Saudi forces kill suspected militants

By Andrew Hammond

RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi forces on Monday killed five
suspected militants believed to be linked to an al Qaeda attack
on the world’s biggest oil processing plant, the Interior
Ministry said.

A shootout erupted at dawn after security forces besieged
suspects in a villa in east Riyadh where several Western
residential compounds are located.

An official statement said five men were killed and one
other suspected militant was arrested elsewhere in the capital.

“Early this morning security forces stormed a building in
east Riyadh which a criminal gang was using as a center for
attacks and corruption,” it said. “All five were killed after
an intense exchange of fire.”

The shootout took place days after al Qaeda suicide bombers
tried to storm the Abqaiq oil facility in the first direct
strike on a Saudi energy target since the militant group
launched attacks aimed at toppling the U.S.-allied monarchy in
2003. The kingdom is the world’s biggest oil exporter.

The men were hiding in a villa in a newly developed
residential district near the al-Hamra area where several
Western housing compounds are located, security sources said.

Security sources said police had tracked down the militants
after pursuing two vehicles that appeared on the surveillance
video of the Abqaiq facility shortly before it was attacked.

One source said the men were also traced through Internet
monitoring. An Internet statement issued at the weekend said al
Qaeda was behind the Abqaiq attack.

Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki told Reuters
police had seized a large cache of explosives at the villa and
that the suspected militant was being interrogated. He declined
to say if he was on a list of most wanted al Qaeda fugitives.

QAEDA WEAKENED

The Saudi wing of Osama bin Laden’s network has been
weakened by a government crackdown in which its leaders have
either been killed or arrested.

Witnesses in Riyadh said they heard the sound of heavy
gunfire and what appeared to be mortars as security forces
surrounded the suburb and sealed it off before dawn.

“Around the time of dawn prayers, we heard the sound of
shots and saw the sky light up. Then a short time later there
were heavy explosions,” journalist Odwan al-Ahmari, who lives
in the area, told Reuters. The clashes trapped about two dozen
worshippers in a mosque, he said.

The shootout ended after two hours with the deaths of all
of the men inside the building, the security sources said.

The Abqaiq strike was the first major attack by militants
opposed to the Saudi monarchy since suicide bombers tried to
storm the Interior Ministry in Riyadh in December 2004.

Authorities say two of the bombers were on a list of top
wanted al Qaeda-linked Islamic militants issued last year. Al
Qaeda had previously identified them in an Internet statement
posted on Saturday and vowed more attacks.

In 2005, Saudi Arabia raised its oil security budget by
about a fifth to around $1.55 billion, security adviser Nawaf
Obaid said. A total of 35,500 security personnel guard the
country’s oil installations.

An Interior Ministry statement said the suicide bombers in
Abqaiq had used two tonnes of explosives in their foiled
attack, which caused a huge explosion at the gate of the
facility.

Security analyst Faris bin Houzam said only four of the 36
suspects on a most wanted list remained at large in Saudi
Arabia. He said many of those on the list were believed to have
joined insurgents fighting in Iraq and some may be dead.

The men killed on Monday have not yet been identified.

“This is not a new generation,” he said, referring to the
latest incidents. “It’s clear that these are people the
security forces have been tracking over the past two years.”