Two suspected militants killed in Saudi security operation

Two men accused of links to bombings and other attacks against Saudi Arabia were shot dead in a security operation in the capital Riyadh on Saturday, Interior Ministry officials said.

The officials told a news conference a security officer was wounded in the operation in the al-Yasmin neighbourhood in northern Riyadh, after the two suspects engaged in a shootout with security forces to resist arrest.

Mansour al-Turki, a Ministry of Interior spokesman, identified the two as Taye' al-Say'ari and Talal bin Samran al-Sa'aeidi.

Say'ari was being sought as one of the most dangerous men in the kingdom, as he was considered an expert in making explosive belts used by militants in suicide attacks, the officials said.

He had been listed in Al-Riyadh newspaper, which is close to the government, as a suspect in the August 2015 suicide bombing of a mosque used by members of the security forces in Asir that killed 15 people.

Since then, the officials said, he manufactured two explosive belts used in bombings in Medina and Jeddah.

Officials had stopped the other man twice before because of his suspected involvement in killings in conflict areas, Colonel Bassam Atieh told reporters.

Security forces found two explosive belts, a grenade and chemicals thought to be used for explosives-making in the home where the two suspects were staying.

The ministry's official Twitter account said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who also servies as interior minister, called the injured officer at the hospital.