Washington: The al-Qaida terrorist network may have been severely weakened by 19 months of counter- terrorism operations but experts warn that after the suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia, it may try to prove it is still active by launching more terror attacks.

Intelligence and terrorism officials said that some plans detected by agencies appear to have been in the works for months, if not longer, but are being brought to fruition quickly.

"They would like to do them all at the same time and have the whole world go up," a terrorism official was quoted by a daily as saying.

Intelligence officials and terrorism experts said the strikes in Saudi Arabia, which left 34 people dead, demonstrate al-Qaida's patient adaptability and continued ability to co-ordinate multiple attacks.

The attacks may also illustrate a shift in power within the beleaguered terrorist group. The terror cell that Saudi officials blame for the attack is headed by Khaled Jehani, who was previously viewed by US officials as a low-level operative, 'The Washington Post' reported.

Last week, a self-described al-Qaida spokesman, Thabet bin Qais, told an Arabic-language publication in London that the network had reorganised and was planning another attack on the scale of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The group is "way ahead of the Americans and its allies in the intelligence war, and American security agencies still are ignorant of the changes the leadership has made", bin Qais claimed in an e-mail to 'Al Majalla' magazine.

PTI