Saudi fighters 'bound for Iraq'

Saudi fighters 'bound for Iraq'

By Frank Gardner BBC security correspondent

Western intelligence sources say they have detected a small group of Saudi extremists trying to get into Iraq to attack coalition forces there.

Volunteers have already left for Baghdad from Beirut

They say they believe the men are pretending to be aid workers and that they may be hoping to cross the border from Iran.

The conflict in Iraq is deeply unpopular in the Arab world and Baghdad has claimed that thousands of Arab suicide bombers are now in the country.

This week, four groups of Islamist fighters were reported to have left their hideouts in Afghanistan to join Iraqi forces fighting coalition troops.

They, too, are thought to be trying to enter from Iran.

And in Italy, an investigation by counter-terrorism officials has concluded that the country is being used a staging-post for Muslim fighters heading for Iraq.

So far, the number of Arab volunteers trying to link up with Saddam Hussein's forces is only a trickle and they are unlikely to alter the final outcome of this war.

But, in the weeks ahead, they could well pose a serious security problem for coalition troops in Iraq.