Prince Nayef told a group of security officers Wednesday evening: "We find, unfortunately, that in our nation there are those sympathetic with them." The official Saudi Press Agency published the comments Thursday.

In an apparent reference to bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network, the prince said, "We will not forget that those who now are in their caves and burrows, they are the ones who do harm to the kingdom, and unfortunately Muslims are being held accountable for them although Islam is innocent."

He acknowledged the concern for the suffering of Muslims around the world, but said people must "place responsibility on those who harm the security of the nation."

Nayef's comments appear to be in response to widespread criticism that the Saudi leadership has been largely silent about the street support there for bin Laden, the son of a Saudi millionaire, and has not confirmed U.S. beliefs that at least 10 of the Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudis.

Lt. Gen. Abdulaziz Sajini, the general director of the Saudi passport department, said in remarks published Thursday that Saudi citizens have sold their passports abroad on a number of occasions. He did not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks but his comments suggested that the hijackers may have used stolen Saudi identities.

"It pains us to say this for the first time, but we hope that the truth will result in greater awareness of the importance of passports and the need to guard them," Sajini was quoted as saying in the al-Riyadh newspaper.

"It is natural that lost, stolen, pawned or sold passports would be used for unauthorized or prohibited purposes," Sajini said. He provided no details about how many passports had been reported lost or stolen but said punishment for selling passports includes jail, fines and temporary or permanent bans on overseas travel.

The Saudi royal family, which also acts as custodians of Islam's holiest shrines, is despised by bin Laden as corrupt and against Islam.

According to the published remarks, Nayef directly referred to those accusation Wednesday, saying "we are the people of Islam and we are an Islamic nation that applies Islamic law."