RIYADH — The Ministry of Interior arrested 219 terror suspects over the past two years for supporting Daesh (so-called IS) on Twitter and posting violent and terrorist content. A source from the Ministry of Interior said the security authorities have been monitoring Twitter accounts of suspects involved in several terrorist crimes. "The authorities arrested a total of 219 suspects. One of the suspects was a woman. They used Twitter to spread terrorist content. One of the arrested terrorists is an expert on making bombs and he posted several tutorials on how to make a bomb. They also followed several accounts flagged as extremists or terrorists on social media," said the source. The source also said the Riyadh Penal Court had also convicted 18 terrorists, three of them were women. "Qasim Police have also arrested a Saudi man involved in terrorism by being in contact with members of Daesh. The terrorist was charged with an attempt to establish a terror cell in the Kingdom. "He also had six social media accounts to promote terrorism and he made several bombs in his home," said the source. The source added that the police also arrested 65 terrorists for plotting to bomb several residential compounds. "Sixty-three of the terrorists were Saudis, one was a Palestinian and the another was Yemeni. They also used social media to incite youth and fuel sectarianism. Authorities also arrested a group of nine terrorists, one of them a woman, who were using social media to post terrorist content," said the source. The source also said security authorities have warned citizens and users of social media against questionable accounts and posts. "Terrorists are reaching out to the masses through social media and are spreading their violent messages. Users must be wise and aware of the procedures taken to report such posts and accounts," said the source.
