By . Suzannah Hills . PUBLISHED: . 03:39 EST, 9 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:24 EST, 9 August 2013 . Two men have been arrested in Saudi Arabia on suspicion of planning terrorist attacks which forced the closure of several foreign embassies in the region in recent weeks. The arrests come as the U.S. sharply escalated its drone attacks on neighbouring Yemen on Thursday with 12 militants killed in three separate strikes. Saudi officials claim the two men arrested, from Yemen and Chad, were planning suicide attacks connected to recent al Qaeda threats on American and British embassies which forced their closures this week. A soldier mans an anti-aircraft machine gun on a military vehicle during a patrol in Sanaa, Yemen, yesterday . Attack: American drones similar to these killed 12 militants in three separate blasts in Yemen yesterday . The pair were detained in late July after they exchanged information on social media about imminent attacks, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The Saudi Interior Ministry said an investigation is continuing into the pair, who used mobile phones and encrypted electronic communications to discuss the terrorist plot. 'The security authorities through monitoring and follow up of published messages of incitement and hatred through social networks managed at the beginning of the last ten days of the holy month of Ramadan to arrest two expatriates,' the ministry added, in a statement published by the official state news agency SPA. 'The two recruited themselves for the service of deviant thought, as evidenced by their seized items which included computer hardware, electronic media and mobile phones and which indicated their communication with the deviant group abroad either by electronic encrypted messages or through identities via the social networks (such as Abu Alfidaa, Hspouy, Muawiya Almadani, Rasasah fi Qusasah, and Abu El Feda Aldokulai) so as to exchange information about impending suicide operations in the region,' the statement added. Children play with toy guns in Sanaa, Yemen, yesterday as America continued to launch drone attacks on al Qaeda terrorists in the country . As the world's top oil exporter and main U.S. Gulf ally, Saudi Arabia is a top target for al Qaeda, which carried out attacks the country a decade ago which killed hundreds. Saudi Arabia has arrested thousands of suspects over the past 10 years and accused them of being involved with al Qaeda. Attacks have been rare since 2006 when it crushed a domestic campaign by the militant group. Survivors of the al Qaeda group in Saudi Arabia responsible for attcks between 2003 and 2006 are believed to have later fled to Yemen where they joined local militants to set up AQAP. The Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is now based in Saudi Arabia's lawless neighbour Yemen - which is one of the militant movement's most active wings. The U.S. is now targeting the terrorist group with drone strikes across Yemen - with 34 suspected al Qaeda militants killed in the last two weeks. It comes amid a global terror alert issued by Washington. High alert: A Yemeni soldier guards security barriers outside the British embassy as authorities tighten security measures around the western embassies in Sanaa, Yemen, earlier this week . The U.S. and Britain evacuated diplomatic staff from the Yemen capital of Sanaa this week after learning of a threatened attack that prompted Washington to close temporarily 19 diplomatic posts in the Middle East and Africa. On Thursday, the U.S. State Department warned Americans not to travel to Pakistan and ordered nonessential government personnel to leave the U.S. Consulate in Lahore because of a specific threat to that diplomatic mission. Thursday's first reported drone attack hit a car carrying suspected militants in the district of Wadi Ubaidah, about 175 kilometers (109 miles) east of Sanaa, and killed six, a security official said. Badly burned bodies lay beside their vehicle, according to the official. Five of the dead were Yemenis, while the sixth was believed to be of another Arab nationality, he said. The second drone attack killed three alleged militants in the al-Ayoon area of Hadramawt province in the south, the official said. The third, also in Hadramawt province, killed three more suspected militants in the al-Qutn area, he added. On patrol: Yemeni soldiers search a car on a street leading to the U.S. and British embassies after Washington issued a global terror alert . All the airstrikes targeted cars, added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The drone strikes have become a near-daily routine since they began July 27. So far, they have been concentrated in remote, mountainous areas where al Qaeda's top five leaders are believed to have taken refuge. But drones also have been seen and heard buzzing for hours over Sanaa, worrying residents who fear getting caught in the crossfire. While the United States acknowledges its drone program in Yemen, it does not talk about individual strikes or release information on how many are carried out. The program is run by the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command and the CIA, with the military flying its drones out of Djibouti, and the CIA out of a base in Saudi Arabia. Pentagon spokesman Army Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale declined to comment Thursday and would not confirm the existence of a military drone program in Yemen. The CIA also declined to comment. Concerned: A police trooper mans a machine gun mounted on an armoured personnel carrier positioned near the British embassy in Sanaa which was closed earlier this week amid 'increased security concerns'
The two men, from Yemen and Chad, are believed to be involved in al Qaeda threats on British and US embassies .
Pair were caught after exchanging information on social networking sites .
Around 19 diplomatic posts in Middle East and Africa closed over threats .
US has stepped up drone strikes in Yemen, killing 12 militants on Thursday .
By . Suzannah Hills . PUBLISHED: . 03:39 EST, 9 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:24 EST, 9 August 2013 . Two men have been arrested in Saudi Arabia on suspicion of planning terrorist attacks which forced the closure of several foreign embassies in the region in recent weeks. The arrests come as the U.S. sharply escalated its drone attacks on neighbouring Yemen on Thursday with 12 militants killed in three separate strikes. Saudi officials claim the two men arrested, from Yemen and Chad, were planning suicide attacks connected to recent al Qaeda threats on American and British embassies which forced their closures this week. A soldier mans an anti-aircraft machine gun on a military vehicle during a patrol in Sanaa, Yemen, yesterday . Attack: American drones similar to these killed 12 militants in three separate blasts in Yemen yesterday . The pair were detained in late July after they exchanged information on social media about imminent attacks, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The Saudi Interior Ministry said an investigation is continuing into the pair, who used mobile phones and encrypted electronic communications to discuss the terrorist plot. 'The security authorities through monitoring and follow up of published messages of incitement and hatred through social networks managed at the beginning of the last ten days of the holy month of Ramadan to arrest two expatriates,' the ministry added, in a statement published by the official state news agency SPA. 'The two recruited themselves for the service of deviant thought, as evidenced by their seized items which included computer hardware, electronic media and mobile phones and which indicated their communication with the deviant group abroad either by electronic encrypted messages or through identities via the social networks (such as Abu Alfidaa, Hspouy, Muawiya Almadani, Rasasah fi Qusasah, and Abu El Feda Aldokulai) so as to exchange information about impending suicide operations in the region,' the statement added. Children play with toy guns in Sanaa, Yemen, yesterday as America continued to launch drone attacks on al Qaeda terrorists in the country . As the world's top oil exporter and main U.S. Gulf ally, Saudi Arabia is a top target for al Qaeda, which carried out attacks the country a decade ago which killed hundreds. Saudi Arabia has arrested thousands of suspects over the past 10 years and accused them of being involved with al Qaeda. Attacks have been rare since 2006 when it crushed a domestic campaign by the militant group. Survivors of the al Qaeda group in Saudi Arabia responsible for attcks between 2003 and 2006 are believed to have later fled to Yemen where they joined local militants to set up AQAP. The Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is now based in Saudi Arabia's lawless neighbour Yemen - which is one of the militant movement's most active wings. The U.S. is now targeting the terrorist group with drone strikes across Yemen - with 34 suspected al Qaeda militants killed in the last two weeks. It comes amid a global terror alert issued by Washington. High alert: A Yemeni soldier guards security barriers outside the British embassy as authorities tighten security measures around the western embassies in Sanaa, Yemen, earlier this week . The U.S. and Britain evacuated diplomatic staff from the Yemen capital of Sanaa this week after learning of a threatened attack that prompted Washington to close temporarily 19 diplomatic posts in the Middle East and Africa. On Thursday, the U.S. State Department warned Americans not to travel to Pakistan and ordered nonessential government personnel to leave the U.S. Consulate in Lahore because of a specific threat to that diplomatic mission. Thursday's first reported drone attack hit a car carrying suspected militants in the district of Wadi Ubaidah, about 175 kilometers (109 miles) east of Sanaa, and killed six, a security official said. Badly burned bodies lay beside their vehicle, according to the official. Five of the dead were Yemenis, while the sixth was believed to be of another Arab nationality, he said. The second drone attack killed three alleged militants in the al-Ayoon area of Hadramawt province in the south, the official said. The third, also in Hadramawt province, killed three more suspected militants in the al-Qutn area, he added. On patrol: Yemeni soldiers search a car on a street leading to the U.S. and British embassies after Washington issued a global terror alert . All the airstrikes targeted cars, added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The drone strikes have become a near-daily routine since they began July 27. So far, they have been concentrated in remote, mountainous areas where al Qaeda's top five leaders are believed to have taken refuge. But drones also have been seen and heard buzzing for hours over Sanaa, worrying residents who fear getting caught in the crossfire. While the United States acknowledges its drone program in Yemen, it does not talk about individual strikes or release information on how many are carried out. The program is run by the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command and the CIA, with the military flying its drones out of Djibouti, and the CIA out of a base in Saudi Arabia. Pentagon spokesman Army Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale declined to comment Thursday and would not confirm the existence of a military drone program in Yemen. The CIA also declined to comment. Concerned: A police trooper mans a machine gun mounted on an armoured personnel carrier positioned near the British embassy in Sanaa which was closed earlier this week amid 'increased security concerns'
on neighbouring Yemen on Thursday with 12 officials claim the two men arrested, from Yemen to recent al Qaeda threats on American and exchanged information on social media about 2006 are believed to have later fled to Yemen terrorist group with drone strikes across Yemen - temporarily 19 diplomatic posts in the Middle East and Africa. On Thursday, the U.S. State U.S. and British embassies after Washington