RIYADH - Saudi Arabian security forces arrested two foreign citizens in a raid on an illegal explosives factory at a Riyadh home, the interior ministry said, according to state news agency SPA.

One of those arrested was a Syrian man, Yaser Al Barrazi, who the interior ministry said was preparing to carry out attacks. The other was a Filipino woman, who the statement described as the man’s “captive”. Two explosive belts and bomb-making equipment were found in the raid, in the al-Fayhaa district of Riyadh. Another location, thought to be a staging post for suicide bombers in the al-Jazirah district, was also raided, but nothing was found there.

The raids were the second major security operation in the capital in the past month. Security forces captured two militants and seized weapons and an explosive vest in raids on September 15.