Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it had taken into custody a man on the kingdom's most wanted list of fugitive al Qaeda suspects. An Interior Ministry statement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency named the militant as Adnan bin Abdullah al-Omari, who featured on a list of 36 wanted men published in June.

A ministry spokesman declined to give any details, saying: "We have got him back. He's one of the men whose name was mentioned on the list."

Saudi Arabia has been battling a two-year wave of violence by supporters of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden who have targeted Westerners and security forces in the world's biggest oil exporter.

Several of the suspects on the list of 36 have been killed, arrested or handed themselves over to the authorities, who believe they have gained the upper hand over the militants.

Copyright Reuters, 2005