Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ? With U.S. and British diplomats warning of possible new terror attacks in Saudi Arabia, police said Wednesday they arrested a suspect in a recent suicide car bombing and seized an arsenal — AK-47 assault rifles, explosives, grenade launchers and a surface-to-air missile.

The arrest was the first in the bombing of the Muhaya housing compound in the capital Riyadh on Nov. 8, which killed 17 people and wounded more than 120. American and Saudi officials blamed the attack the al-Qaida terrorist network of Osama bin Laden, a Saudi exile.

The Saudi Interior Ministry, in charge of the kingdom’s police, issued a statement saying the suspected Islamic militant was found hiding with the cache of weapons and “pamphlets inciting terrorist acts.” It said the man was arrested a week ago but that his identity would not be revealed to protect the investigation.

The arrest comes with tensions high in the Saudi capital after attacks on foreign housing compounds in May, the November attack, and renewed American and British warnings this week of possible new attacks on housing compounds for foreigners.

The U.S. government issued a travel warning for Americans to “defer non-essential travel to Saudi Arabia. Americans are reminded of the potential for further terrorist actions against U.S. citizens abroad, including in the Persian Gulf region.”

In London, meanwhile, a 24-year-old British man was charged Wednesday with conspiring in an explosives plot with Richard Reid, the al-Qaida “shoe bomber” who tried to blow up a U.S. airliner.

Sajid Badat, one of more than 20 people arrested since last week in a series of anti-terrorism raids, was charged with two additional explosives offenses, London Police said.

Police gave no details of the explosives charges, and it was unclear whether Badat was accused of involvement in Reid’s attempt to set off explosives on a trans-Atlantic flight. Badat is to appear in court today.

Authorities alleged that between Sept. 1, 2001, and Nov. 28, 2003, Badat “unlawfully and maliciously conspired with Richard Reid and others unknown” to cause an explosion “likely to endanger life or cause serious injury.”

Reid was sentenced to life in prison for a Dec. 22, 2001, bombing attempt aboard a Paris-to-Miami flight.