Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have broken up an Al-Qaeda cell comprising seven Arabs who were plotting attacks in the Gulf state, an official statement said on Thursday, according to the AFP news agency.

The cell was “plotting acts that would have harmed the security of the country, its citizens and foreign residents,” said the statement carried by state news agency WAM.

The group was also involved in “recruiting people” for Al-Qaeda and providing the jihadist organization with “money and logistic support”.

It was also “trying to extend its activities to reach some other countries in the region,” the statement said, without elaborating.

The seven are of “Arab nationalities,” and will be questioned and put on trial, it said.

In December authorities announced disbanding a cell of Saudi and Emirati members plotting “terror” attack in the two countries and other states. They were described as members of the “deviant group,” a term usually used in Saudi Arabia to refer to Al-Qaeda-linked Islamists.