 A Saudi police officer was killed yesterday in an exchange of fire as the siege by Saudi security forces of suspected Al-Qaeda terrorists entered its second day. An officer shot in the siege yesterday has since died of his wounds. The militant who was shot and wounded yesterday outside a supermarket early on in the incident has also died.
| We can only hope it was very painful... |
Unconfirmed reports said the two militants shot in Dammam on Sunday had figured on a list of 36 most wanted terrorists. They identified the pair as Zaid Saad Al-Samari, 31, and Walid Mutlaq Al-Radadi, 21, who died in the shootout with security forces outside a supermarket on Muhammad ibn Fahd Street on Sunday.
| Another couple to check off the list... |
An official Interior Ministry source said late Sunday that security forces had killed two suspects following a gunbattle in Dammam. Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, a spokesman of the ministry, said two policemen died of wounds sustained in the shootout. Gen. Turki told Arab News that the authorities had no immediate plans to storm the building in Mubarakiya district but would instead lay siege to the building in a bid to capture the gunmen alive. âWe are not in a hurry because time is in our favor and we want to avoid casualties among security officers,â he said.
| "Yeah. We got 'em surrounded. Where they gonna go?" |
Saudi television showed a heavy gunbattle between security forces and militants, resulting in at least one fire. Soldiers were shown firing from rooftops, one of them using a rocked-propelled grenade launcher. The authorities described the besieged militants as members of Al-Qaeda network, who have carried out a wave of shootings and bombings in the Kingdom since May 2003. âSporadic gunfire is continuing around the buildings where the members of the deviant group are holed up,â one security source said, adding that there were 10 suspects inside. âThe security forces have reinforced their positions and are bringing in bulldozers and additional heavy equipment.
| Good idea. Drop the house on 'em... |
âWeâre in no rush to storm the building as weâre hoping to capture them alive and obtain information about wanted terrorists,â he said.
| I'd just kill 'em and then round up everybody they know. |
Residents reported hearing heavy gunfire as they were evacuated from nearby homes. One witness said he saw scared children being driven out as a helicopter hovered overhead. There were unconfirmed reports that terrorists had killed one of their own colleagues when he tried to surrender to security officers.
| Surrendering is about the same thing as converting to Buddhism... |
The reports also indicated that the terrorists might have run away from Madinah after their commander Saleh Al-Oufi was gunned down by security forces last month. The terrorists had turned the building into a hide-out and a base for making weapons. They rented it two months ago through a real estate office for an annual rent of SR40,000. |