Agence France Press is reporting that "German secret services have been conducting surveillance of Saudi diplomatic missions and other Saudi interests in the country amid suspicions that the rich Gulf Arab kingdom is supporting extremist networks such as al-Qaeda, influential news magazine Der Spiegel said.

The revelation comes after a US congressional report last month that raised questions about Saudi Arabia’s role in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, which were blamed on al-Qaeda.

Previously, such missions were not monitored because Saudi Arabia was considered a ’partner’ of Germany, the magazine added in its edition due to appear on Monday."