Saudi raid turns into deadly firefight Monday 04 April 2005, 1:40 Makka Time, 22:40 GMT
Saudi security forces have exchanged fire with members of an armed group they had attempted to arrest, resulting in at least four deaths and many more wounded. Aljazeera has learned that at least one Saudi police officer was shot dead on Sunday and another 15 had been wounded by midday. Saudi Arabia's Al-Ekhbariya television broadcast Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abd al-Aziz confirming that three suspected rebels had been shot dead. "They were asked to surrender, but those people are known not to listen," Faisal told the television station. He described the gunmen as "terrorists" but did not say which organisation they belonged to. The firefight erupted about 8am (0500 GMT) in the city of al-Ras in al-Qasim region, 355km northwest of the capital, Riyadh, 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. An Interior Ministry source said the suspects hurled grenades during the battle. Several security vehicles were damaged. Al-Qaida accusation Another security source earlier said that the clash took place 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". 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. 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. Agencies http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E9323C62-CAE2-4FC6-A8E8-B1ED0D3693AF. htm .................................................................... Three Terrorists Killed in Fierce Gunbattle With Security Forces Hassan Adawi, Arab News JEDDAH, 4 April 2005 - Three suspected terrorists were killed yesterday after more than 12 hours of intense gunbattle with Saudi security forces north of Riyadh, a provincial governor said. "Three wanted men were killed and some members of the security forces were wounded," Prince Faisal ibn Bandar, governor of Qasim, told Al-Ekhbariya television. The clash had erupted at around 8 a.m. after an attempted raid by security forces on a house where the wanted militants were holed up in the city of Al-Rass in the Qasim region. "Security forces are working now to bring an end to the clashes," the governor said, adding that an unspecified number of armed men had now moved from the building where they had been hiding to another house. It was the longest standoff between security forces and militants. Some 106 girl students and female teachers were held up at a nearby primary school as a result of the fierce gunbattle. Police evacuated the girls by knocking down a rear wall of the school. A security source earlier said that the clash took place as security forces raided a house where suspected members of the Al-Qaeda network were believed to be hiding. The source said that the security forces were initially unable to launch a raid on the building due to the intensity of the fire coming at them. The shootout is just the latest deadly exchange between security forces and militants responsible for a wave of violence in the Kingdom over the past 23 months. Additional forces were sent from Riyadh to confront the militants, believed to be well trained in armed fighting. Security sources said the militants included wanted terrorists. Medical sources said earlier that one security officer was killed and at least 20 others wounded in the battle in Al-Rass, 300 km northwest of Riyadh. But Brig. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the Interior Ministry, said he was not aware of any fatalities among security forces. http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=61543&d=4&m=4&y=2005 ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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