Interpol has issued international alerts for 47 Saudi men, some accused by Saudi Arabia of links with al-Qaeda. The international police agency quoted the Saudi authorities as saying the suspects were "a potentially serious public threat at home and abroad". The "red notices" are not arrest warrants but give member countries details to help identify the suspects. The latest group of alerts is one of the largest ever issued by Interpol at one time. The largest, in March 2009, also came from the agency's Riyadh office, and included 85 suspects wanted for links to al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Afghanistan. A red notice can be requested by any of Interpol's 188 member countries and remains in effect until the wanted person is extradited to that country. The Saudis have pursued aggressive anti-terror policies since 2003, and analysts say Riyadh has one of the most effective anti-terrorism agencies in the world. "By asking for Interpol's assistance, Saudi Arabia and the Interpol bureau in Riyadh have ensured that all Interpol member countries have been made aware that these men and their activities represent a security concern not only for Saudi Arabia and the region but also worldwide," Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble said in a statement. It is not clear what the men are accused of, although Saudi interior ministry spokesman Major General Mansour al-Turki said the men's arrest orders were accompanied by "evidence for their involvement in various crimes". "A number of them pose a big danger as they are involved in al-Qaeda terrorist operations," he said. Quoted by the Saudi English-language daily Arab News, Maj Gen al-Turki said some of the men had left the country illegally. Sixteen of them were thought to be in Yemen, 27 in Afghanistan or Pakistan and four in Iraq, he added. Source: BBC