Saudi Arabia vows crackdown on radical clerics

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's top security official has vowed to tackle extremist clerics, saying that authorities will be keeping a close watch.

Radical clerics in the kingdom and abroad have issued edicts that encouraged jihad or religious attacks against the Saudi government and Western residents.

"Those who consider themselves to be guides or muftis have to stop doing this and return to their senses," Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz said on Monday.

"The authorities in charge are on their back and will not leave them alone. We see in them a greater threat than that coming from those who perpetrate the acts," he said.

Prince Nayef also urged the official religious establishment to avoid the spread of extremist views. He said the lack of positive action from clerics will prompt a “deficiency''.