Dammam, Saudi Arabia – In a barrage of gunfire and explosions, Saudi special forces on Tuesday overran a seaside villa where Islamic militants had been holed up, ending three days of heavy fighting that killed at least nine people.
Security forces that swept into the building in the eastern city of Dammam found several charred bodies, apparently those of militants killed in explosions – suggesting that the death toll from the fighting would rise.
It was the fiercest clash in months in the kingdom’s two- year crackdown on al-Qaeda- linked militants.
Officials in the conservative, oil-rich nation – a key U.S. ally – say they have been winning that fight. Last fall, Saudi forces claimed to have killed the leader of al-Qaeda in the kingdom in a series of raids in the capital and the holy city of Mecca.
King Abdullah, who took over the throne last month after the death of his half brother, Fahd, has vowed to push ahead with the crackdown, and some have suggested he may intensify it.
For two nights, special forces pounded the villa with rocket- propelled grenades and gunfire before launching a major assault Tuesday.
Soon after dawn, a helicopter swooped in and dropped a team of commandos near the villa, buses arrived with reinforcements, and hours of gunfire erupted. At one point, an explosion blasted debris and white smoke out of a neighboring building.
Four policemen and at least five suspected militants were killed in the fighting, which began Sunday, officials said.
One was identified as the No. 3 on the country’s most-wanted list, Zaid Saad Zaid al-Samari, 31, a Saudi sought in connection with numerous terrorist attacks launched in the kingdom since May 2003.
The fighting began when police raided a militant hideout elsewhere in Dammam on Sunday. A group of heavily armed militants fled to the villa in the Mubarakiyah district and barricaded themselves inside.
The battles prompted the U.S. Embassy to close the American consulate in Dhahran, 13 miles southwest of Dammam, on Monday.
Security commanders had warned that the militants were heavily armed and appeared ready to fight to the death.
Since May 2003, Islamic militants have carried out numerous attacks, suicide bombings and kidnappings in Saudi Arabia. They have tended to target Westerners in a bid to cripple the economy. Westerners occupy important positions in the oil industry.
