Six suspected terrorists killed in Riyadh

Saudi security forces stormed a suspected al Qaida hideout in the capital Riyadh early today, killing six militants and arresting a seventh after an exchange of gunfire, an Interior Ministry official said.

One policeman was also killed in the clashes.

A statement, carried by the official Saudi news agency, said security forces chased seven members with "deviant thoughts" who "belong to the astray bunch" to a house in Riyadh's al-Nakheel district.

The Saudi government often refers to al Qaida members as individuals with "deviant thoughts".

The house was "a hideout for crime, corruption, and a base for the plots of aggression and outrage," the statement said.

After a heavy exchange of gunfire with automatic weapons, six of the seven suspected militants were killed, and a seventh was injured and arrested, it said.

Saudi Arabia launched an aggressive anti-terrorism campaign in May 2003 after suicide bombers linked to al Qaida attacked three residential compounds in Riyadh.