RIYADH, Aug 21: Four suspected militants surrendered to Saudi security forces in Jeddah on Monday after police laid siege to a building in which they were holed up, the interior ministry said.

Security forces traded fire with the gunmen during the siege, which lasted several hours, ministry spokesman Gen Mansur al-Turki said.

There were no serious casualties, although two or three of the gunmen suffered minor wounds which required first-aid treatment, he said.

Residents were evacuated from the building in the city’s Al-Jamea neighbourhood during the siege.

The shootout was the latest in a spate of gunbattles between Saudi security forces and suspected Al Qaeda militants who have carried out a series of bombings and shootings, many targeting Westerners, since May 2003.—AFP