Saudi Cops Kill 5 Oil Attack Suspects

Saudi security forces shot and killed five militants the government said Monday were suspects in last week's foiled suicide bombing of a huge oil processing complex in the kingdom's east.

Security forces detained a sixth militant who was not harmed in one of two simultaneous raids in the capital, Riyadh, the Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

"We think all the men involved had something to do with the Abqaiq attempt," the ministry's chief spokesman, Lt. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, told The Associated Press in Dubai, referring to Friday's attempt to detonate car bombs inside the world's biggest oil stabilization plant.

The ministry's statement said security forces swooped on a "rest stop" in the eastern Riyadh suburb of Yarmouk where the militants met to plan their operations. Earlier, al-Turki said the forces raided a Yarmouk house that was under surveillance.

"After a heavy exchange of gunfire, security forces were able to control the situation in a short time, killing all five at the scene," the ministry statement said.

The security forces suffered no casualties, al-Turki added.

"We will interrogate the arrested man," he said.

"Sources say that police have taken in a large cache of weapons," reports CBS News' Phil Moore in Dubai. "This is part of the modus operandi of all al Qaeda cells that have been busted, particularly in Riyadh. When al Qaeda-linked militants have been killed or captured, they have usually been found with large supplies of weapons."

Friday's attack, the first ever on Saudi Arabia's vital oil infrastructure, was claimed by the Saudi branch of al Qaeda.

Two suicide bombers were killed in the attack, which was foiled when security guards fired at their vehicles outside the gates to Abqaiq. Two guards were killed.

On Sunday, the Interior Ministry identified the two dead assailants as Abdullah Abdul-Aziz al-Tweijri and Mohammed Saleh al-Gheith and said both were on a list of the kingdom's 15 most-wanted terrorists issued in June.

The killings Monday left only four militants on the list of 15 at large. Ten have died or been killed, and one has been captured.

Witnesses to Friday's attack said security forces traded fire with gunmen outside the facility after the explosions, and the hunt for attackers continued for hours.

The Saudi branch of al Qaeda warned in an Internet statement Saturday that its suicide bombers would strike the oil industry again.

"Saudi Arabia's been fighting its own war on terror for the last 18 months," reports Moore. "They've killed or captured many al Qaeda-linked militants, particularly in Riyadh, where this fire-fight has taken place. Al Qaeda is trying to destabilize or overthrow the House of Saud."

Saudi security forces have largely had al Qaeda militants on the run for the past year, arresting hundreds of suspects. They killed or captured all but one of the top 26 militants on a most-wanted list issued in December 2003, then issued the second list in June.

Saudi Arabia holds over 260 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, a quarter of the world's total. It is the world's largest exporter, currently putting out about 9.5 million barrels per day, supplying 11 percent of global consumption.

Abqaiq processes about two-thirds of the country's oil before export.