RIYADH, 20 February 2004 — The Ministry of Interior has denied a report carried on the front page of a prominent Saudi daily yesterday that a wanted terror suspect was killed in a shootout with security forces.
Okaz newspaper reported yesterday that on Wednesday a terrorist wanted by the government was killed in a shootout with police in the capital’s Al-Aziziyah district. The paper did not name the suspect.
“The report appearing in Okaz was baseless. No one was killed or arrested,” the Interior Ministry official told Arab News over the telephone.
Meanwhile, security officials are continuing their search for terror suspects in several areas in the south and east of the capital. On Wednesday afternoon, Special Forces units and local police cordoned off the Central Market in Riyadh after receiving tip-offs that wanted suspects were hiding there.
Police closed all roads leading to the market and several additional patrol cars were called in for backup. Many retailers were asked to leave the premises so forces could sweep the market.
Police were concentrating on upstairs warehouses used for storage by retailers in the market, especially warehouse No. 18. They left the scene just before sunset without any arrests made.
The central market in Riyadh, in the south of the city, is near Haraj ibn Qasim and is surrounded by workshops and the local sheep market.
In another incident, a prominent Arabic news website reported Wednesday afternoon that its report that the GMC Suburban wanted by the government was found on the Riyadh-Al-Kharj road on Tuesday was incorrect. The website said it regretted the mistake.
A day earlier, the Elaph news website had reported that the GMC Suburban had been intercepted on the Riyadh-Dammam road but said it was not known whether explosives were also found.
Security sources have told Arab News that the search for the 1991 GMC Suburban truck is still ongoing and that news of its capture was “baseless”.
“In a huge city like Riyadh with a population of 4.5 million, including all the surrounding areas and rest houses, it is not an easy task,” said the official from the Interior Ministry.
