Riyadh, 17 April (AKI) - The Saudi authorities have ordered all Internet cafes the country to install hidden cameras to monitor Internet users and catch those who access Al-Qaeda linked jihadist sites, according to the interior ministry.

Internet cafes will also be required to identify all their customers.

People who do not have a licence will be forbidden to access the Internet via satellite connections.

Minors under 18 years of old will not be allowed to use Internet cafes, which will be required to close at midnight.

Saudi government concerns over extremism in the conservative kingdom deepened after Al-Qaeda-linked militants launched a campaign to destabilise the kingdom in May 2003, targeting government buildings, energy installations and foreign residential compounds in suicide bomb attacks.

Since then, hundreds of suspected Al-Qaeda militants have been arrested and are due to be tried on terrorism charges.

As recently as last Tuesday, security forces arrested 11 Al-Qaeda suspects who were allegedly planning to carry out terrorist attacks inside the Saudi Arabia and kidnap security officers and other “useful” individuals, the interior ministry said.

In March last year, Saudi security forces arrested 28 militants who, the authorities said, were involved in rebuilding the Al-Qaeda network in Saudi Arabia and plotting a fresh campaign of terror.

The militants were collecting money under the pretext of supporting the needy in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the interior ministry said.