Two suspected militants and two Saudi security personnel were killed in a fierce gunfight Thursday in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, the Interior Ministry said. The shootout took place after a car carrying suspects, some disguised as women, failed to stop at a checkpoint on the road outside between Mecca, the ministry said. The clash coincided with local elections in Mecca and nearby areas, part of limited reforms in the conservative kingdom. Another four security force members were wounded and two militants were arrested in the clash. It was the latest confrontation in a two-year campaign of violence by al Qaeda supporters in the world's biggest oil exporter.
The ministry statement said police arrested the driver of the car at the checkpoint and chased the other three when they sped away into Mecca. The suspects were described as wanted members of the "deviant group," a reference to al Qaeda.
Residents of Mecca's eastern Umm al-Joud neighborhood said the three militants then apparently set an ambush for security forces, leaving a Kalashnikov rifle in the street to attract attention and then opening fire when the forces arrived. The residents said they heard heavy gunfire and saw a helicopter flying overhead and ambulances rushing to the area.
The suspects, who one officer said were armed with a machine gun, set at least one police car ablaze in the shooting. A Reuters reporter saw one car burned out and another partly burned.
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