Saudi official: Five militants arrested after shootout
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Saudi authorities have intensified their hunt for suspected terrorists after May's suicide bombings in Riyadh.
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(CNN) -- Saudi authorities have arrested five Islamic extremists after Tuesday's deadly gunbattle with security forces in the capital of Riyadh, the Saudi interior minister told an Arabic satellite news channel Wednesday.
The arrests took place Tuesday in western Riyadh, Saudi authorities said.
Three Saudi police officers were killed in the shootout, and one of the militants was critically wounded, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz told the Dubai-based network Al Arabiya.
He said that seven militants escaped and that Saudi authorities are close to arresting what he called a number of "terrorists" across the country.
In Tuesday's raid, sources said security forces arrived in Riyadh's al-Suwaidi district around noon and immediately sealed off the area. Helicopters were called in to assist in the manhunt, sources said, and the shootout lasted for several hours.
An unknown number of people were wounded in the raid, and it was unclear whether any civilians were caught in the crossfire, an official said.
Authorities have not released details about the suspects taken into custody.
Saudi authorities have intensified their hunt for suspected terrorists since May, when suicide bombings in Riyadh targeted three compounds housing Westerners, killing 23 people, including nine Americans. Twelve other remains were identified as those of the bombers.
Saudi authorities said they have arrested more than 200 suspected terrorists since those bombings.
CNNArabic.com Editor Caroline Faraj contributed to this report.
