August 25, 2003	Monday	Jumadi-us-Sani 26

RIYADH, Aug 24: A number of Saudi nationals arrested in Iran for their alleged links to the Al Qaeda network have been extradited to Saudi Arabia, Iranian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ali Asghar Khaji was quoted as saying by an Iranian news agency.

He did not say how many Saudi nationals were handed over, or when, and did not name them either.

There has been no comment from Saudi Arabia on the reported extraditions.

Meanwhile, IRNA, the Iranian News Agency, also quoted Ambassador Khaji as saying that Iran and Saudi Arabia had signed a security pact, and were working to improve bilateral ties.

Iranian judiciary chief Aytollah Mahmud Hashemi visited Saudi Arabia last month during which a memorandum of understanding to promote ties between the judiciaries of the two countries was also signed. The issue of Saudi captives in Iran, suspected of having links with Al Qaeda, was also reported to have come up during the discussions between the two sides.

In the recent months there has been speculation in the international press that a number of Al Qaeda operatives are in the custody of Iran. The names circulating also included Saad bin Laden, the eldest son of Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman Abu Gaith and Seif Al-Adel, accused of being the mastermind of the May 12 Riyadh bombings, which killed more than 30 people including eight Americans.