http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E9323C62-CAE2-4FC6-A8E8-B1ED0D3693AF.htm
Gun battles continue in Saudi Arabia
Tuesday 05 April 2005, 3:38 Makka Time, 0:38 GMT
More than 200 people have died in violence since May 2003
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Saudi security forces have killed seven insurgents in an ongoing siege in the
northern town of al-Ras, according to security sources.
Aljazeera said clashes were still going on as insurgents hurled grenades at
police from their hideout in al-Ras in the al-Qasim region, 350km northwest of
the Saudi capital Riyadh.
A ministry statement said an eighth militant was critically wounded and a
number of members of the security forces were injured, though most had been
released from hospital.
Security sources earlier said eight militants were killed.
"Security forces are continuing mop-up operations at the
site," it said about one of the longest and bloodiest battles in
Saudi Arabia's two-year confrontation with al Qaeda supporters.
A Saudi-owned channel reported that two of the insurgents were on the desert
kingdom's most wanted list.
Al Arabiya named the two men as Abd al-Karim al-Mijjati and Saud Humud
al-Utaibi. Both were on a list of 26 most wanted militant suspects published by
the Saudi government in December 2003.
Riyadh allegess that al-Mijjati, a Moroccan, has links to bombings in
Casablanca in May 2003 and last year's Madrid train bombings.
Witness report
Witnesses said gunfire could still be heard on Monday morning in the
neighbourhood of al-Ras which security forces had surrounded since early
Sunday. Officials described the insurgents as "terrorists".
Aljazeera has learned that at least one Saudi police officer was shot dead on
Sunday and another 15 had been wounded by midday.
Other sources said a total of 35 security personnel had been wounded.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia's al-Ekhbariya television broadcast comments from
Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abd al-Aziz, amir of the al-Qasim region,
confirming that three suspected fighters had been shot and killed.
Saudi security forces are on high
alert with clashes erupting often
"They were asked to surrender, but those people are known not to listen,"
Faisal told the television station. He described the armed men as "terrorists"
but did not say which organisation they belonged to.
The firefight erupted about 8am (0500 GMT) in the city of al-Ras after security
forces surrounded several wanted men in a neighbourhood called al-Jawazat, a
security source in Riyadh said.
The gun battles began early on Sunday morning and dragged on into the night,
Reuters quoted a security source as saying.
Several security vehicles were damaged.
Al-Qaida link?
Another security source earlier said the clash erupted as security forces
raided a house where "suspected members of the deviant group [official
terminology for suspected al-Qaida sympathisers] were believed to be hiding".
"They were asked to surrender, but those people are known
not to listen"
Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abd al-Aziz
Witnesses said they saw at least three people being carried away from the house
on Sunday morning, but it was not clear whether they were wounded or dead.
Speaking to Aljazeera by phone from the scene in al-Qassim, a Saudi witness
Sulayman al-Siwayan said there was heavy security presence in the al-Ras
neighbourhood. The place was swarming with special forces, police and civil
defence personnel.
"One or two helicopters can be seen hovering over the area and explosions and
sporadic shootout can be heard from time to time," he said.
Roads leading to the area have been closed and the neighbourhood isolated,
al-Siwayan said.
The security forces have done an excellent job controlling the situation
without allowing many casualties, he said.
Sensitive location
A medical source at a local hospital told Aljazeera that 51 security forces
personnel had arrived for treatment, but al-Siwayan said the number was an
exaggeration. He put the number of security casualties at around 15.
The estimate of Saudi security
casualties varies from 15 to 51
When asked about the identity of the armed men, he said: "They are people with
no belief or doctrine. They do not belong to any group but to the devil."
The security operation took place next to a girl's primary school which had 94
students and 13 teachers, a factor that complicated the situation, al-Siwayan
said.
"Fortunately, all have been safely evacuated," he added.
The incident came less than a month after a suspected al-Qaida member was
arrested along with two of his companions, after a heavy gun battle, on 13
March in the Red Sea city of Jedda.
Violence blamed on al-Qaida since May 2003 has killed 90 civilians, according
to official figures. Thirty-nine members of the security forces and 92 fighters
have also been killed.
Aljazeera + Agencies
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