Abu Dhabi: UAE authorities said on Thursday they arrested a seven-member group that belongs to Al Qaida which was planning terrorist acts against the country’s security.

The suspects are of various Arab nationalities and were recruiting, financing and providing logistical support to Al Qaida, security sources quoted by WAM as saying.. They had also sought to expand their activities to regional countries, the statement added.

“The cell was planning actions that would target the country’s security and the safety of its citizens and residents, and was carrying out recruitment, and promoting the actions of Al Qaida,” WAM said.

This is the second such a group busted since December, when another suspected militant cell was detained on December 26 in a joint operation with Saudi Arabia.

In early January, Dubai’s Police Chief, Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, said that cell had links to Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, including the Yemen-based wing that is widely regarded as one of its most effective affiliates.

In an interview with Saudi-owned Asharq Al Awsat daily, the Dubai police chief said the group planned bomb attacks against targets in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other states in the region rather than targeting individuals for assassination, he added.

The UAE has always called for collective international efforts to combat terrorism. During a meeting on Tuesday with US President Barack Obama at the white house, General Shaikh MohammAd Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces condemned the recent bombing of the Boston marathon and added that the UAE “stands by all countries of the world against all acts of terrorism, regardless of their sources or motives.”.