Al-Qaida militant killed in Riyadh shootout

A firebrand cleric who issued religious decrees for an al-Qaida-linked terrorist group has been killed during a car chase and shootout with Saudi police that also killed a policeman.

Abdullah Mohammed Rashid al-Roshoud, believed to be the chief ideologue for al-Qaida in the region, died in the clash in the al-Quds neighbourhood in eastern Riyadh yesterday, a security official said.