Saudi Arabia has arrested 88 people plotting "terrorist" attacks at home and abroad, Al Arabiya television reported on Tuesday, citing the interior ministry.

The ministry said the suspects had been monitored for months before their arrest and "were on the verge of carrying out operations". Fifty-nine had been detained previously, it added.

Meanwhile, a small fire broke out on a gas pipeline in the kingdom's Eastern Province after unidentified assailants shot at a security patrol, Saudi security and oil industry sources said.

The pipeline has been repaired and there was no impact on oil or gas production, the sources said, but the incident marks the first confirmed attack on physical energy infrastructure in the world's largest oil exporter since 2006. -Reuters