RIYADH, July 1: A Saudi helicopter crashed in the southern town of Abha, close to the porous border with Yemen, injuring 11 policemen on board who were chasing terror suspects in southern Saudi Arabia, it was reported here. The soldiers were looking for 27-year-old Dhafer Abdul Rahman al-Shihri, suspected of shooting and wounding a police officer on Saturday, the Okaz daily said.

Al-Shihri is also being sought for assisting 19 suspected terrorists wanted by Saudi authorities.

The area along the Saudi-Yemeni border is rife with arms smuggling. The two nations recently signed an agreement to beef up border security in a bid to eliminate smuggling and check infiltrators.

The porous and yet to be demarcated border between Saudi Arabia and Yemen is becoming a source of major concern for the Saudi authorities. More than 381,900 infiltrators were arrested over the border during the 11 months ending Feb 2003 and 36 Saudi border guards have been killed in Jizan, near the border, during the same period, it has been reported here.

The Saudi border guards have also confiscated 263 firearms, 1.2 million rounds of ammunition, 46,700 sticks of dynamite and a large number of detonators.