RIYADH, 27 May — Deputy Minister of Interior Prince Ahmad announced yesterday that security officers had arrested the suspect behind the blast that occurred near Jarir Stores in Riyadh last March. An official statement on the arrest will be issued at an appropriate time, the prince said.

Prince Ahmad did not rule out a link between the Jarir Stores blast, which injured two expatriate workers, and a spate of bombings that had rocked the capital earlier.

However, Prince Ahmad said he did not believe the attacks were part of organized crime but suspected personal vendetta.

“Things are not yet clear to reach a final conclusion. But up till now we believe that they are personal,” he added.

Referring to new rules regulating movement of expatriate workers between the Kingdom’s regions, he said the implementation of the rules would take some time.

Prince Ahmad disclosed that the Chechens who hijacked a Russian plane to Madinah in March were still in the Kingdom. “No decision has been taken on their fate. Most probably they would be tried at a Shariah court in the Kingdom.” He hoped that Iraq would hand over the two Saudis who hijacked a Saudi Arabian Airlines plane to Baghdad in October last year.

“It’s a big crime and nobody in Iraq, the Kingdom or outside would condone it. It is a crime that endangers the lives of passengers. We hope the hijackers would be extradited to bring them to justice,” he said.

Prince Ahmad said the authorities were considering a plan to reduce jail term for various crimes and to mete out alternative punishments. He urged citizens to cooperate with the security authorities  to combat crime.