A Saudi newspaper reported Sunday that authorities there have arrested nine American citizens and 24 people as terror suspects during the past week.

The arrests also included 14 Saudis, three Yemenis, two Syrians, an Indonesian, a Filipino, an Emirati, a Kazakhstan national and a Palestinian, the Saudi Gazette said.

But Reuters, citing comments from six U.S. officials, said the United States could not confirm any Americans were among the group and that authorities were still checking names against databases.

The Saudi Gazette did not say if any of what it called the "terror suspects" were linked to the ISIL group, which has claimed several deadly attacks against security forces and Shias in the kingdom in recent months.

On Friday, a suicide bomber attacked a Shia mosque in Eastern Province killing four people before worshippers disarmed and tied up his accomplice who had fired on them.

ISIL, a radical Sunni group that considers Shias heretics, did not claim that attack.

The Saudi Gazette said about 532 ISIL suspects accused of plotting attacks in the kingdom are being questioned ahead of their trial at the criminal court in Riyadh.

By VOA