Saudi Arabia makes arrests over deaths of French

RIYADH, Mar 6 (Reuters) Saudi Arabia has arrested some suspects in the killing of four French nationals in the kingdom last month, the Interior Ministry said today.

''We now hold people accused of the crime,'' Interior Ministry spokesman Turki Mansour told Reuters by telephone.

He declined to say how many people had been arrested but an Interior Ministry official said earlier at least two suspects had been detained.

The French nationals, including a teenager, were killed by gunmen on February 26 during a desert trip in the Arab country. No one has claimed of responsibility for the attack.

Two assailants attacked the group of nine French nationals who were visiting historic sites and camping in the desert in the scenic western region of the country.

Asked if some of those arrested had been charged for the killing, Turki said: ''Not yet, we still have to complete the investigation''.

Security forces are looking for Saudi nationals Abdallah Sayer al-Mohammadi and Nasser bin-Latif al-Balawi, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

''We just want them to appear at the nearest police station and clear their names,'' Turki said.

The ministry gave the two men 24 hours to turn themselves in and offered 7 million riyals (1.9 million dollars) for information leading to their arrest.

Saudi Arabia has vowed to crack down on Islamic militants and has condemned the attack.

Islamic militants swearing allegiance to al Qaeda launched a campaign to topple the US-allied Saudi monarchy in 2003, carrying out attacks on foreigners and government installations, including the oil industry.

Some of the estimated 100,000 Western residents in the Saudi Arabia left after the earlier attacks, reducing the number to around 60,000, but many have since returned, diplomats said.

The Islamists have said they want to drive ''infidel'' Westerners from Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest sites.

Tough security measures and a powerful publicity campaign helped crush the violence but analysts and diplomats have said the underlying drives of radical Islamic ideology and anger at Western policy in the region remain strong.

REUTERS SP KN2220