A large arms cache linked to an al-Qaeda cell has been found near Saudi Arabia's capital city of Riyadh, Saudi officials say.

The cache contains nearly 300 assault rifles and some 41,000 rounds of ammunition.

Saudi officials claim that the arms and ammunition cache is linked to 44 suspected members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, whose arrests were announced in August, BBC reported on Monday.

The cache has been found amid reports indicating that the Saudi government is not taking the necessary steps in fighting terrorism.

In September, a US think-tank declared that Saudi Arabia continues to act as the main supporter of international terrorism.

The Washington-based Institute for (Persian) Gulf Affairs identified Saudi Arabia as a den for terrorism in a report, warning that “the Saudi terror problem” has been growing since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

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