Saudi forces clash with suspected militants

Saudi forces clashed with suspected militants in the capital Riyadh today and there were reports of casualties, security officials said.

The clashes in al-Rawdah district, an upmarket neighbourhood in eastern Riyadh, erupted after security forces raided an area where suspected militants were thought to be hiding, Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Mansour al-Turki said.

“Some of those militants were on the recently issued list of 36 suspected terrorists,” he said.

He said there were reports of at least one militant killed, but authorities were trying to confirm that.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia issued a new list of 36 most wanted terrorists and said all had participated in previous terror attacks in the kingdom dating back to 2003.

The oil-rich kingdom has suffered a series of heavy terrorist attacks since May 2003 when suicide bombers attacked three housing estates for foreigners in the capital Riyadh.

The kingdom then launched a wave of retaliatory raids against the militants, and issued a list of 26 most wanted in December 2003. Security forces have killed or captured 23 of the 26 figures on that list.

On Wednesday, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef warned that the possibility of more attacks.