RIYADH, Feb 27: Saudi forces on Monday killed five suspected militants believed to be linked to an Al Qaeda attack on the world’s biggest oil processing plant, the Interior Ministry said.

A shootout began at dawn after security forces besieged suspects in a villa in east Riyadh where several Western residential compounds are located. An official statement said five men were killed and one other suspected militant was arrested elsewhere in the capital.

“Early this morning security forces stormed a building in east Riyadh which a criminal gang was using as a centre for attacks and corruption,” it said. “All five were killed after an intense exchange of fire.”

The shootout took place days after Al Qaeda suicide bombers tried to storm the Abqaiq oil facility in the first direct strike on a Saudi energy target since the militant group launched attacks aimed at toppling the US-allied monarchy in 2003.

The men were hiding in a villa in a newly developed residential district near the al-Hamra area where several Western housing compounds are located, security sources said.

Security sources said police had tracked down the militants after pursuing two vehicles that appeared on the surveillance video of the Abqaiq facility shortly before it was attacked.

One source said the men were also traced through Internet monitoring. Internet statements issued at the weekend said al Qaeda was behind the Abqaiq attack. Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki said police seized a large cache of explosives at the villa and that the suspected militant was being interrogated. —Reuters