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. | "Youse in there! Throw down yer shootin' irons and come out witcher hands up!" "You'll never take us alive, coppers!" "Hokay. Mahmoud, kill them all. I'm going to lunch." |
| "Owowowowowow..." "Is he wounded or dead, sergeant?" "Owowowowow [Snap!]... Aaaaaiiiiieeeeee! Rosebud!" "Dead, sir!" |
UPDATE: Gunmen still resisting in north Saudi
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 4 (UPI) -- Security forces and gunmen entrenched inside a building traded gunfire Monday in northern Saudi Arabia. Witnesses in the city of Ras in the province of al-Kassim, 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Riyadh, said the clashes, which began Sunday, were intermittent. There was no official casualty count but security sources who requested anonymity told UPI a number of security forces -- some 25 -- had been injured, mainly from shrapnel. The governor of al-Kassim, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdul Aziz, said three gunmen were killed in the confrontation. He said two police were seriously injured and underwent surgery while the rest suffered superficial injuries.
Prince Faisal said security forces managed to rout gunmen from several hideouts, but unconfirmed reports said as many as 21 gunmen, including several terror suspects, were still entrenched inside a building and resisting. Abdullah al-Rashoud, who figures on an official list of 26 most wanted terrorists in Saudi Arabia, is believed to be among the resisting gunmen.