Five militants die in Saudi terror battle

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.

Police cordoned off the al-Safaa neighbourhood late last night after receiving a tip that “some wanted militants of the astray bunch” were in the neighbourhood, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry.

The ministry said three militants were killed in the shooting, and one was arrested.

The shooting continued into today, and the security official said two more wanted men had been killed after refusing to surrender. Their companions fled the scene in a car and police were pursuing them, the official said.

One policeman was slightly injured in the shooting, the ministry statement said.

It was not immediately clear whether any of the dead or captured were on Saudi Arabia’s most wanted terrorist lists.

The shootouts followed a suicide bombing on Wednesday that killed six people, including the attacker, and injured 148 people at the administrative headquarters of Saudi General Security.