• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Saudi Arabia says Jeddah siege gunmen surrender

Posted on: Monday, 21 August 2006, 13:20 CDT

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said on Monday four militants who were holed up in a building in the Red Sea city of Jeddah surrendered after clashes with security forces.

"The four people surrendered to security forces after heavy clashes," an Interior Ministry spokesman told Reuters. "Nobody was hurt," he added.

The state-run Al-Ikhbariya television earlier said three of the gunmen had been killed in the clashes.

The official Saudi Press Agency said two of the suspects were among seven people who escaped from a detention center in the capital, Riyadh.

In July, the kingdom said six Saudis and a Yemeni held on security charges had escaped from the Malaz prison.

A government security adviser said then the men had no proven links to al Qaeda militants, who are normally held at a high security prison outside Riyadh.

Ikhbariya said the police evacuated 29 residents from the apartment building, using a crane to lift off an Indonesian driver, his wife and a child who had taken refuge on the roof.

The cabinet, in a statement issued after a weekly meeting, said the kingdom "remains determined to stamp out terrorism" and wanted an international effort to combat it.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has been battling a campaign of violence by militants linked to al Qaeda who want to topple the pro-U.S. monarchy and expel foreigners from the birthplace of Islam.

The spokesman said it was too early to say whether the gunmen were on a list of most wanted militants.

Security forces had arrested seven suspects in Jeddah on Sunday, he said, but so far there was no known link between the arrests and Monday's siege.

"The seven that we arrested on Sunday are not on the wanted list but are being interrogated," he said.

Authorities in June said security forces had arrested 42 suspected Islamist militants in raids over the previous few months.

Source: REUTERS

More News in this Category