A monumental breakthrough for Saudi security forces

For Saudi security forces it was a monumental breakthrough, in which they killed at least ten militants in a three day gun battle between Saudi security forces and suspected al-Qaida fighters which ended today.

The Interior Ministry said two al-Qaida leaders were among those killed in the battle. It was the highest casualties among militants in a single fight since Saudi Arabia launched its crackdown on armed extremists in 2003.

“They (security forces) have complete control of the location. There is no resistance anymore,” Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier-General Mansour al-Turki said.

Mojati, a Moroccan, was killed in Al-Ras alongside Saud Homoud al-Oteibi, they added. Both were on a list of 26 most wanted suspects issued by Saudi Arabia more than a year ago.

Al-Mojati had helped plan the May 2003 suicide bombings in Casablanca that killed 33 bystanders and 12 suicide bombers. He was one of the top five remaining militants at large, following the capture or killing of 21 others.

Al-Oteibi is said to be one of two Saudi militants running al-Qaida’s branch in Saudi Arabia. Last year, he purportedly posted an Internet statement rejecting an amnesty offered by Saudi ruler King Fahd who promised militants that their lives be spared if they surrendered.

The fighting in Al-Ras was one of the longest and bloodiest confrontations in the kingdom’s two-year crackdown on fighters loyal to Osama bin Laden, and could prove a major setback for al Qaeda’s efforts to undermine the world’s biggest oil exporter.

The battle began Sunday morning when security forces, acting on a tip, arrived at another building in Jawazat in ar-Rass, 355 kilometers (220 miles) northwest of Riyadh. Militants opened fire with automatic rifles and grenades, sparking a clash with police that killed three suspected terrorists. The remainder fled to the villa.

During the shootout, one militant surrendered and two others were wounded and captured.

Previously, the highest number of militants killed in a single battle with Saudi forces was six in July 2003, when police raided a farm in al-Qassim, 220 miles northwest of Riyadh. Al-Qaida-allied terrorists have claimed responsibility for numerous suicide bombings, gun battles and bomb attacks targeting Saudi security forces and Western interests in the oil-rich Gulf kingdom.

Officials say at least 90 civilians, many of them Westerners and 39 troops have been killed in the last two years, and the attacks have caused at least 1 billion riyals($270 million) of damage. Police killed some 100 militants in the same period.

Saudi officials say the country’s oil fields and refineries are well protected and al Qaeda’s network has been eroded over the past year. But Western embassies continue to warn that they believe militants are planning further attacks.