Dubai: Saudi security forces killed two militant suspects and arrested a third in a two-day operation in southwestern Bisha province, the Ministry of Interior said on Sunday, accusing them of involvement in deadly attacks claimed by Daesh.
Security personnel killed two men in an exchange of gunfire during a chase to thwart an “imminent” attack on Friday, ministry spokesman Mansour Al Turki said in a televised statement.
Explosive belts and machine guns were found in the men’s car, the official added.
A third suspect, named as Oqab Al Otaibi, fled the scene but was arrested the following day.
The statement said the three men were suspects in the killing of a senior security officer outside Riyadh in April. Two of them, including Al Otaibi, were also allegedly involved in a suicide bombing last August of a security forces mosque in Abha, capital of southwestern Asir province, in which 15 people died.
Daesh claimed responsibility for both attacks, but the ministry did not directly implicate the group in its statement on Sunday.
There have been a series of attacks against Saudi security forces since last year. Daesh has claimed many of them.