RIYADH, 14 August 2003 — Interior Minister Prince Naif said yesterday five militants were arrested during a shootout in the capital that also left three security men and one suspected militant dead.
He said Tuesday’s raid was connected to a gunbattle on Sunday evening in which 10 militants escaped from a rest house in the Al-Amana district after opening random fire on policemen.
No police officers were reported injured, and police discovered a large cache of weapons and explosives and several ID cards in the rest house.
The interior minister also said the militants were not among the 19 Al-Qaeda members wanted by the government for their involvement in the May 12 terrorist attacks that killed 35 people, including nine suicide bombers.
Early yesterday morning, a statement from the Ministry of Interior said interrogation was under way of the suspects arrested during the shootout in Al-Shabra Road in the Al-Suwaidi district.
Meanwhile, Prince Sattam ibn Abdul Aziz, deputy governor of Riyadh, attended funeral prayers for the three police officers killed in the shootout in Imam Turki ibn Adbullah Mosque yesterday. The martyred officers were: Ahmed Mubarak Al-Shammari, Muqbil Uwaida Al-Jihani and Sami Muhammed Al-Jabri.
Prince Muhammed ibn Naif, assistant minister of interior for security affairs, and the head of Public Security, Lt. Gen. Saeed Al-Qahtani, as well as the deputy head of police in Riyadh Brig. Saad Shafi also attended the funeral prayers.
