Dubai: Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network has implied it carried out the triple suicide bombings in Riyadh on May 12 night, in a message received on May 13 by a Saudi weekly newspaper.

The group had been planning major operations for a long time in the Gulf where it had stocked large amounts of arms and explosives, al-Qaida operative Abu Mohamed al-Ablaj wrote in an e-mail to 'al- Majallah' (The Magazine) which is published from London.

"The execution of this plan was not hampered by the recent announcement by the Saudi authorities of the seizure of large quantities of arms and explosives in the kingdom and the hunt for 19 people," said Ablaj, alias mullah Seif Eddin.

He described himself as the "coordinator of the Mujahedin training centre" run by al-Qaida.

"Among the priorities of al-Qaida's new strategy, besides strikes at the heart of the United States, are operations in the Gulf countries and countries allied to America, particularly Egypt and Jordan," Ablaj said.

Osama had given instructions to wage a long-term guerilla war in the Gulf similar to campaigns in Afghanistan and Chechnya, he said.

"These operations will target air bases, warships, military camps every one on the Arabian peninsula and in the Gulf."

"The mujahideen have lists of members of the security services," he said, adding that groups of suicide bombers were ready to strike.

'Al-Majallah', which was to print the full contents of the e-mail on May 9, said Ablaj told it on April 7 that al-Qaida had completed preparations for 'a forthcoming major operation in the Gulf, targeting the rear of the American Army.'

The newspaper reported last week that al-Qaida was preparing a new attack in the United States on the scale of September 11 after adopting a new operational structure, which is impenetrable to US intelligence.

"An attack against America is inevitable," 'al-Majallah' quoted the Islamic militant network's newly appointed spokesman Thabet bin Qais as saying in an e-mail.

ANI