 (IsraelNN.com) Saudi Arabia security personnel killed two terrorists Monday in the Red Sea city of Jeddah after a day-long stand-off. Two other terrorists also were in the building which Saudi state television said is under siege by police and soldiers.
Gunmen surrender after shootout
RIYADH: Four suspected militants surrendered to Saudi security forces in Jeddah on Monday after police laid siege to a building in which they were hiding, the Interior Ministry said. Security forces traded fire with the gunmen during the siege, which lasted several hours, but there were no casualties, said ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki.
Four Militants Surrender
 Four militants surrendered to security forces in Jeddah yesterday after a 17-hour gunbattle. They included two men who had escaped from a prison near Riyadh in July. Authorities came under fire as they attempted to enter and arrest the suspects in a residential building in JeddahÂ’s Al-Jamia district, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Al-Turki. The arrested militants had light injuries.
| “One eyewitness said he saw “hundreds” of bullet holes in surrounding buildings...” |
The security operation began at around 3 a.m. and ended at eight in the evening. During the operation, police were seen using rocket-propelled grenades. At times, the shootout between the suspects and authorities was intense. One eyewitness said he saw “hundreds” of bullet holes in surrounding buildings. Three families were evacuated from the rooftop of the four-story building by a crane. Nearby hospitals were told by the Ministry of Health to be on Code Yellow preparedness, which is typically reserved for natural disasters. Witnesses reported hearing sounds of gunfire early in the morning. Helicopters were seen hovering over this middle class neighborhood.
| “Authorities did not want to say whether the operation was linked to Sunday’s detention of seven suspected militants...” |
Authorities did not want to say whether the operation was linked to SundayÂ’s detention of seven suspected militants in the Al-Ajwad district, a middle class neighborhood in JeddahÂ’s far eastern suburbs. On Sunday, Saudi security forces arrested the seven, including one believed to be a Yemeni national. No casualties were reported in that operation. Security forces had blocked out the area for more than eight hours and arrested the suspects in a villa. Al-Turki said that the seven arrested are not on the KingdomÂ’s most-wanted list but are being interrogated. In July, authorities said six Saudis and a Yemeni escaped from RiyadhÂ’s Malaz Prison. The Interior Ministry did not say how the prisoners escaped.
The seven prisoners were identified as Abdul Aziz Abdullah Sulaiman Al-Masoud, Osamah Abdul Rahman Sulaiman Al-Wihabi, Turki Hilal Sanad Al-Mutairi, Ghazi Muhasan Al-Usami Al-Utabi, Abdul Aziz Mohammed Saleh Al-Falaj, Mohammed Abdul Aziz Al-Qahtani and the Yemeni Abdul Rahman Taha Al-Hatar. Al-Turki said that two of the seven escapees were apprehended in yesterdayÂ’s arrests.
| “A majority of residents in the area are foreign nationals, mostly Africans...” |
A month earlier security forces had arrested 43 suspected militants in raids over the previous few months throughout the Kingdom. Al-Jamia neighborhood is located in the southeast of Jeddah near the old airport. A majority of residents in the area are foreign nationals, mostly Africans. The area has witnessed many security raids and several arrests of criminals and wanted people were made there recently. YesterdayÂ’s gunbattle is the second witnessed in the neighborhood. The first happened during Ramadan last year when police engaged in a gunfight with terrorists hiding inside a house in the neighborhood near King Abdul Aziz University. |