Saudi top cleric warns youth against calls for jihad

Saudi Arabia's top cleric Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh Thursday urged the country's youth to ignore calls for jihad by extremist groups.

Reacting to Monday's arrest of eight Saudi nationals who lured young people to join extremist groups abroad, the Grand Mufti highlighted the danger of sending youths to unknown lands and under unknown flags and principles to become only victims who get arrested, sold and bargained, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

Saudi Arabia's interior ministry Wednesday said at least eight people were arrested in the country for luring youths into joining the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

The arrests were made in a security operation in northern Riyadh Monday and the crackdown was based on a royal decree issued in March ordering punishment for anyone joining or aiding terrorist or extremist organisations on the Saudi Arabian government's blacklist.

The Grand Mufti, who is also general president for Scientific Researches and Fatwa, emphasised that this is a serious matter and urged people not to mislead the young and subject them to great danger under the claims of jihad by sending them abroad.

The highly influential religious leader's comments come in the wake of Saudi Arabian crackdown on the supporters of foreign terrorist organisations such as Syria's Al Nusra and Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups in the country.