3 die in Mekkah clashes

AFP, Jordan Times Friday April 22, 2005

Two suspected militants and at least one member of the Saudi security forces were killed in clashes Thursday in Mekkah, security men at the scene said. The two suspects were killed and a third was wounded and arrested during a gun battle in Mekkah after the group sped away from a checkpoint on a road leading to the city from Medina, the sources said. The car's driver was arrested while three other gunmen in the vehicle, who were disguised as women, were chased by security forces to a mountainous district of Mekkah. At least one security man was killed during the ensuing battle after reinforcements were sent to the scene, with an undetermined number injured.