Saudi Arabia's battle with extremists heats up

Saudi special forces battled Islamic militants for a third day Tuesday in the eastern city of Dammam, "with the extremists appearing to be determined to fight to their last bullet," reports The Associated Press.

The fighting intensified after daybreak, when a military helicopter dropped off a team of commandos near the villa where the militants were holed up.

Police cordoned off the entire Mubarakiah district in Damman, 250 miles northeast of the capital Riyadh. Police checkpoints did not allow any vehicle to leave the neighborhood Tuesday.

BBC reports that the battle has led to the deaths of five alleged militants and three police officers.

Security officials declined to give overall figures for the dead and wounded, but a security official said one of the two militants killed Sunday was No. 3 on the country's most wanted list, reports AP.

09/02/05 Tensions increase between Turkey, EU 09/01/05 Pakistan, Israel hold breakthrough talks 08/31/05 Terrorist activity on the rise in SE Asia

Sign up to be notified daily: Find out more. Subscribe via RSS:   What is this?

"The authorities described the besieged militants as ' members of the deviant group' – official terminology for the Al Qaeda militants who have carried out a wave of shootings and bombings in the kingdom since May 2003, much of it targeting Westerners," reports AFX News.

The US temporarily shut its consulate in neighboring Dhahran as a result of the fighting in Dammam. Both cities are close to huge oilfields, reports BBC.

These clashes were the bloodiest since April, when Saudi forces killed 15 militants in a three-day fight in the town of Al Ras north of the capital Riyadh, Reuters points out.

Since May 2003, Islamic militants have carried out numerous attacks, suicide bombings, and kidnappings in Saudi Arabia. More than 140 people have been killed and more than 100 militants have died in the government's crackdown, reports BBC.

Last month, Saudi forces killed the top Al Qaeda leader Saleh Mohammed al-Aoofi during clashes in the city of Medina.

Al-Aoofi, a former prison guard, had reportedly fought in Chechnya and traveled to Afghanistan to join al Qaeda shortly before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. There he met men who would later become his comrades in the Saudi terror network, according to Saudi newspaper reports. Among them was one of the nine suicide bombers in the May 12, 2003, car bombing of foreigners' housing compounds in Riyadh that killed 35 people.

Meanwhile, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal on Tuesday urged the United Nations to help set up an international center for combating terrorism, reports United Press International.

Also...
• As US tries to secure an Iraqi town, insurgents respond ( The New York Times)
• Southern Colombia hit by blackout ( BBC

• Feedback appreciated. E-mail Matthew Clark .