Saudi security forces battled suspected al-Qaida militants across the kingdom today, killing four wanted extremists in the capital and clashing with armed men in the holy city of Medina.

Saudi security forces killed two wanted militants and arrested a third after storming a residential area in Riyadh today.

Saudi security forces today ambushed a residential area in the capital Riyadh, suspected of being a hideout for one or more wanted militants.

A THREE-day gun battle between Saudi security forces and suspected al-Qaida fighters ended yesterday with at least 10 militants killed, a security official said.

A three day gun battle between Saudi security forces and suspected al-Qaida fighters ended today with at least ten militants killed, a security official said.

A suspected Islamic militant was killed and three others were arrested in clashes with police in the coastal Red Sea city of Jeddah, after Saudi security forces discovered a wanted militant hiding in a residential building, authorities said today.

An internet statement in the name of al-Qaida today claimed responsibility for last week’s bomb blasts in the Saudi capital Riyadh, saying it aimed to assassinate the interior minister and his son.

Islamic militants threw explosives at the gate of the heavily-guarded US consulate in Jeddah in a bold assault, then forced their way into the building, prompting a gun battle that left seven people dead and several injured before the three-hour long crisis was brought under control.

Islamic militants using a car today attacked the heavily-guarded U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with explosives and machine guns in a explosion and gunbattle that left seven people dead and several others injured.

A car bomb exploded outside the heavily-guarded US consulate in the Saudi port city of Jeddah today, injuring several people. Hostages were understood to be held inside as a gunbattle raged in the latest strike against Western targets in the kingdom.

Saudi security forces have confirmed an unknown number of hostages have been taken inside the US consulate in Jeddah.

Saudi security forces have arrested four suspected militants in operations in Riyadh and a village outside the capital, an Interior Ministry spokesman said today.

Three suspected militants armed with guns and hand grenades have been killed in a clash with Saudi security forces, an Interior Ministry statement said today.

THE head of the American hostage murdered by militants last month has been found after a raid on the hideout of an al-Qaida leader in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi security forces killed two militants and wounded three others in a gunbattle in the Saudi capital Riyadh last night.

IMAGES of an American hostage being decapitated surfaced on Saturday on an internet site known for carrying the statements of Islamic militants.

A gunbattle between Saudi security forces and militants left two people dead and three wounded.

THE al-Qaida group responsible for abducting and killing an American engineer say they were aided by sympathisers in the Saudi security forces — a claim denied by Saudi authorities.

The al-Qaida group that beheaded an American engineer said sympathisers in the Saudi security forces provided police uniforms and cars used during the victim’s kidnapping, according to an Islamic extremist website.

Saudi security forces today killed two key militants who had links to the weekend shooting attack and hostage-taking crisis that killed 22 people, most of them foreign oil workers.

Saudi troops freed American, European and other foreign hostages today after they stormed a residential compound where gunmen were holed up in a deadly stand off.

Tens of European, US and other hostages were released today and a gunmen believed to be the lead Islamic militant holding them was arrested, a Saudi security official said, adding that two other gunmen were “in the process of being arrested”.

Saudi security forces have stormed an expat housing complex where suspected Islamic militants are holed up with a reported 50 hostages after attacking oil company offices.

Saudi security forces stormed a prestige expatriate housing complex where gunmen holed up and took hostages after a shooting dead at least six people at oil company offices in the eastern city of Khobar.

SAUDI security forces clashed with five wanted militants at a suspected hideout north of Riyadh yesterday, killing four of the men and wounding a fifth, a security official said.

Saudi security forces clashed with five wanted militants at a suspected hideout north of Riyadh today, killing four of the men and wounding a fifth, a security official said.

Saudi security forces have killed five wanted militants and were pursuing others after shootouts that have raged for two days in the port city of Jeddah.

A car bombing at a security building in the Saudi capital bears all the hallmarks of al Qaida, officials have said.

Saudi security forces have defused a bomb placed in a telephone booth in the capital Riyadh, a security official said.

Saudi security forces killed one of the country’s most wanted terrorist suspects and a second militant in a gun battle in a Riyadh suburb today.

Saudi security forces today foiled a terrorist plan to detonate a car bomb in the capital, Riyadh, killing two suspected terrorists.

Saudi security forces raided a farm today, setting off a running gun battle that ended with a hospital siege and at least five dead, officials said.

Three people, including a stewardess, have been killed as Saudi special forces stormed a hijacked Russian airliner.

Saudi security forces have taken positions around a hijacked Russian plane as negotiations resume to end a stand-off with Chechen hijackers.