RIYADH, 13 August 2003 — Three Saudi policemen were killed in a major shootout between security forces and suspected terrorists here yesterday, an Interior Ministry official said. The official said a suspected militant and two policemen were injured in the incident.
An unspecified number of militants were arrested, a source told Arab News.
Armed police laid siege to the Al-Suwaidi district in the south of the capital on Monday evening, hours after 10 suspected militants escaped a gunbattle in north Riyadh.
The Interior Ministry immediately announced that all members of the gang escaped, contradicting media reports that they were arrested.
It was unclear last night, however, whether the latest shootout involved the same gang which escaped earlier.
Armed police, the source added, stormed several villas in the Al-Suwaidi district, including a building under construction, in the late afternoon while helicopter gunships hovered overhead.
Eyewitnesses reported that armed men in the buildings hurled hand grenades and fired automatic rifles.
They appeared determined to fight to the death rather than surrender, as have all other militants in a string of similar violent confrontations following the May 12 suicide bombings in Riyadh.
Twenty-six bystanders including seven Saudis and nine Americans as well as nine attackers died in the bombing.
At least 200 suspects have been arrested, more than a dozen killed and thousands interrogated following the blasts.
Al-Suwaidi district, the scene of yesterday’s gunbattle, is one of Riyadh’s less affluent.
Newswires reported that the suspected militants opened fire on members of the special security forces who besieged the villas in the district.
Exchanges of fire resumed at around 7:30 p.m. after a brief lull in the shootout. Power was cut and security forces used searchlights.
Residents said the hunt for the militants started on Monday night. Villas in the area of the shootout were evacuated yesterday evening as security forces took up positions on rooftops.
According to one report, more than 15 were wounded in the shootout.
A resident told Reuters at least five houses were targeted in the raid. “The operation is very big. The whole area is surrounded by security police. It is a big area,” he added.
Police cordoned off the area, preventing passers-by and reporters from approaching.
Saudi Arabia has cracked down hard on militants after the May bombings, which targeted compounds housing foreigners.
Washington and Riyadh blame the bombings on Al-Qaeda.
The latest shootout came after 10 suspected terrorists on Sunday fired on police before fleeing from a rest house used to store weapons and explosives.
A source told Arab News that the suspects were all armed with machine guns. No security officers were injured.
A search of the rest house revealed a large cache of weapons and explosives and several ID cards.
Last month, security forces exchanged fire with suspected militants at a farm in Al-Qasim after learning from intelligence sources that some of the 19 Al-Qaeda members wanted in connection with the May 12 bombings were hiding there.
Six terror suspects and two police officers were killed in the shootout. The Interior Ministry said one of the Saudis — Ahmed ibn Nasser Al-Dakheel — killed in that battle was on the wanted list.
The ministry has urged the other wanted militants to surrender and warned the public against sheltering or sympathizing with wanted terror suspects.
The 19 individuals on the wanted list are considered by the authorities to be part of a group that had direct connections with the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
