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Monday, 5, September, 2005 (01, Sha`ban, 1426) Samir Al-Saadi & Ahmed Al-Abki, Arab News JEDDAH, 5 September 2005 Security forces killed a wanted terrorist and wounded another following a gunbattle with the pair in the eastern city of Dammam. Eyewitnesses told Arab News that security forces were also besieging a building in the city where three suspects were trapped. Heavy gunfire was heard after residents of nearby buildings were evacuated. The shootout erupted around 2 p.m. after security forces chased the two suspects outside Panda Supermarket on Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd Street in the city. "Security forces were tracking down a number of suspects in the area," Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the Interior Ministry, told Arab News. He said the security forces were in control of the situation. The gunbattle took place when a terrorist opened fire at police while he was leaving the supermarket. The man was later killed by police gunfire. No policemen or civilians were wounded in the shootout. Witnesses told Arab News that security forces were deployed in force at the scene of the shootout which took place in a main commercial thoroughfare where many foreign firms have their premises. The source said security forces were combing the area for any possible accomplices. Witnesses told Arab News that they saw many police vehicles and ambulances moving to the site where the shootout took place while military helicopters were hovering above. A Panda employee told Arab News that a security officer had asked him to keep a watch on the two suspects and find out whether they were carrying any weapons. When the two rushed out of the supermarket, security officers were waiting for them. An employee at a pharmacy close to Panda said the two terrorists had come to his shop at 1.35 p.m. He said that they were clean-shaven, adding that the leaner of the two was aged about 22-25 and the other aged 30-35. According to one source, police inspected the car of the terrorists to check for booby trap devices. Saudi forces have repeatedly clashed with suspected militants since followers of Al-Qaeda launched a spate of shootings and bombings, many targeting Westerners, in the Kingdom in May 2003. Saudi authorities said last month they had thwarted terrorist attacks, including one in the capital Riyadh, during a series of coordinated operations against Al-Qaeda militants. The last violent incident reported in the Eastern Province was on the night of Aug. 29, when Saudi authorities said they had arrested five Iraqi "infiltrators" after a shootout in Jubail, but they described them later as car thieves. One Iraqi wounded in the clash died later. The first terrorist attack in the Eastern Province took place in 1996 when a large truck bomb destroyed an eight-story residential tower in Alkhobar housing American soldiers, killing 19 US servicemen and wounding 400 others. Copyright: Arab News © 2003 All rights reserved. Site designed by: arabix and powered by Eima IT ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Life without art & music? Keep the arts alive today at Network for Good! http://us.click.yahoo.com/FXrMlA/dnQLAA/Zx0JAA/uTGrlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
