Saudi prince injured in suicide bombing

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Saudi Prince Muhammad bin Nayef was injured when a suicide bomber detonated explosives in a cell phone during an assassination attempt Friday, officials said.

Nayef, the deputy interior minister credited for Saudi Arabia's crackdown against al-Qaida militants, was treated at a Riyadh hospital for minor injuries, The New York Times reported.

While no organization immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, officials said al-Qaida was under suspicion. The Interior Ministry announced last week 44 suspected al-Qaida terrorists were arrested so far during the year. Six weeks ago, more than 300 militants -- many allegedly linked to al-Qaida -- were tried and convicted in secret trials, the kingdom's official news agency said.

Nayef's anti-terror effort has been brutal, said Amnesty International, which said in a recent report that Saudi security forces committed "massive human rights violations" and acts of torture, the Times said. The organization said about 3,000 people were being held because of the crackdown.

Friday's attack was the first known assassination attempt against a royal family member since 1975, when King Faisal was shot and killed at by a nephew, Prince Faisal bin Musaed, the Times said. The prince later was beheaded in public in Riyadh.