"This is absolutely untrue. There had been no investigation because there was nothing. The arms we found are not similar to those of the national guard," Prince Nayef told Okaz daily.

The Washington Post reported Monday that Saudi officials were investigating suspected arm sales to Saudi-based Al-Qaeda operatives by members of the guard.

Weapons seized May 6 at an Al-Qaeda safe house in the Saudi capital were traced to the national guard, the Post added, citing Saudi and US officials.

Prince Nayef charged that the report was part of an anti-Saudi campaign and "unfortunately such campaigns assist these terrorists."

The report was also denied by the assistant deputy chairman of the national guard, military affairs, Lieutenant General Mutaeb bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. He is the son of Crown Prince Abdullah, who heads the force.

"The arms used by the terrorists are Russian-made, like AK-47s, which the national guard does not have. The explosives uncovered are Czech-made. The national guard never dealt with these countries," he told Al-Watan daily.

Other officials said guardsmen had been involved in illicit gun sales for years and that the motivation was financial, not political, according to the Post.

Past audits of the guard's arsenal showed weapons were missing, but the matter was not pursued due to bureaucratic inertia, the report said.

Saudi Arabia said Sunday it had arrested four members of the Al-Qaeda terror network linked to the May 12 triple suicide bombings in Riyadh, and identified five of the perpetrators of the attacks, which killed 34 people, including nine bombers.

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