RIYADH, Nov 13: Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif on Monday termed Iraq a major base for terrorism, highlighting the growing concern among its Arab neighbours on the aftermath of the Iraq crisis.

"There is no doubt that Iraq now forms a main base for terrorism," Prince Naif said in an interview with the Al Arabiya television channel.

“For many years the returnees from Afghanistan were a cause of concern to the conservative Arab regimes. Now it seems Iraq has assumed the centre stage in this direction,’’ the prince said .

"The situation in Iraq is changing day by day, and this has numerous threats," he said before his departure to the United Arab Emirates to attend a meeting to discuss security issues in the Gulf region.

The growing Sunni-Shia violence is another cause of concern to the Arab leaders, who now see a pattern of sectarianism emerging in the region. Many see this divide escalating into a full-scale civil war in Iraq.

Prince Naif also said Saudi youth were being lured to fight in Iraq by some parties. The US and Iraqi officials have long complained that Saudis were crossing into Iraq to fight the US-led western forces.

Saudi Arabia has of late been pushing ahead with plans to build a fence along its frontier with Iraq to prevent militants from crossing the border.