RIYADH, April 26: Saudi security forces backed by helicopters have encircled four suspected terrorists in a region northwest of the capital, local residents said. They said the security forces, including special forces, backed by about a dozen armoured cars as well as helicopters, have surrounded the suspects' hideout since late Sunday.

The hideout, 40 kilometres northwest of Riyadh, is in an area of caves and orchards between Al-Uyainah and Al-Ammariya. A member of the security forces involved in the search told AFP that three of the four suspects are believed to figure on the Saudi interior ministry's list of 26 most wanted terror suspects that was issued last December.

One of them is Abdul Aziz bin al-Muqrin, a Saudi who took over as the Al Qaeda terror network's chief for the Gulf from Khaled Ali bin Ali Haj, who was shot dead by police in Riyadh on March 15, he said. -AFP