RIYADH, May 24: Saudi security forces were involved in a fierce gunfight with suspected militants in a town north of Riyadh on Monday, witnesses said. The clashes broke out in the Al-Nassim residential area of Buraida when security men were searching for wanted terror suspects, the witnesses said.

The gunbattle, which witnesses said was continuing intermittently, was at its most intense around 1200 GMT when helicopters hovered above the area and security forces systematically searched for the armed suspects. Buraida is located in Al Qassim region, some 320 kilometres north of the capital. -AFP