Saudi Arabia tries to curb the funding for terrorism that flows through some of the nation's nonprofit groups.

WASHINGTON - The Saudi government Wednesday outlined plans to dismantle all international charity organizations operating in the kingdom and place their holdings under a new commission in what officials said is an effort to stop the flow of funds to terrorist groups.

The charities to be dissolved include the al Haramain Islamic Foundation, one of the largest and most influential Saudi charities, whose chairman is the Saudi minister of Islamic affairs.

At a joint news conference with Saudi officials, the U.S. Treasury Department also announced that it had designated the longtime chief of al Haramain as a financier of al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.

Under the leadership of Aqeel Abdulaziz al-Aqil, fired two months ago by the Saudi government's clerical authorities, al Haramain became a principal organization "providing support for the al-Qaida network and promoting militant Islamic doctrine worldwide," according to findings released by the Treasury Department.

Though they took no action against Aqil, the Saudis joined with the United States on Wednesday in designating five al Haramain branch offices -- in Afghanistan, Albania, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and the Netherlands -- as terrorism financiers. Information about those entities and Aqil will be forwarded to the United Nations for inclusion on an international list of sponsors of terrorism.

Two al Haramain branches abroad were previously designated as financiers of terrorism, and a small al Haramain office in Oregon was raided by U.S. authorities earlier this year on suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering.

The United States has long pressured the Saudis to reform oversight of its wealthy charities. Government officials generally agree that in the past year there has been significant progress in the desert kingdom's war on terrorism, including financial oversight, as a series of deadly attacks has been conducted on Saudi soil.

In a new attack, two American Army officers came under fire as they were driving Wednesday near the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman said that one soldier was slightly wounded and that the other was unhurt, though other reports said the injured man was a Saudi driver. A spokesman for the Central Command in Tampa, Fla., said he had no information on the incident.

Neither soldier's name was released, no assailants were in custody, and it remained unclear where the gunfire originated.

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