It literally proved to be third time unlucky for Abdullah Ahmad Al-Sahli, the prisoner who escaped from a hospital in Dammam last week. He was shot dead in an encounter with Saudi security and three suspected accomplices were arrested from a desert area east of Hafr Al-Batin.

A source said the three are suspected of having helped the prisoner to escape from the hospital by opening fire on security men who were accompanying the detainee.

The fugitive, Abdullah Ahmad Al-Sahli, was arrested a year ago in connection with a murder case and other cases pertaining to carrying weapons and drifting.

The police announced that the raid started at around 6 a.m. on Monday targeting a tent pitched behind a gas station on the Kuwait International road, suspecting that the fugitive was hiding there with a group.

The police said: “When the detainee and his companions knew that the tent was being raided by police, some of them fled in a car heading toward Hafr Al-Batin. The shooting continued between the group and the police. Meanwhile, three of his companions stayed in the tent to cover up the detainee’s escape and to mislead the police.”

“However, the security authorities chased him, and when the car approached the city, the police damaged the car forcing him from entering residential neighborhoods and causing damages to residential premises,” police said.

“Al-Sahli and one of his companions were wounded severely, which resulted in the detainee’s death, and the injured companion was transferred to King Khalid General Hospital in Hafr Al-Batin amid tight security.”

Sources said the detainee was hiding in Najran in the past few days and headed toward the Hafr Al-Batin area intending to cross the borders to Iraq.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said in a press statement: “While the police were working out a plan to track down the fugitive and arrest him for trial, he was spotted along with four other people in a desert area, 25 km east of Hafr Al-Batin.”

Al-Turki said: “The tent was surrounded with the help of Aviation Security, and we appealed to them to put down the weapons in their possession and surrender to police.”

“When police started arresting the people, those hiding in the tent started shooting and police retaliated, resulting in the death of Al-Sahli, and causing injury to one of his companions and the arrest of the other three Saudis,” he said, adding: “Two machine guns and three pistols in their possession were confiscated.”