Representational Image
Riyadh:
Police in Saudi Arabia arrested two suspects and were hunting two others who fled following shootouts and raids that netted a bomb belt, they said on Wednesday.
The gunfire occurred in separate districts of Riyadh on Tuesday evening as officers pursued an investigation into "deviant groups," the interior ministry said in a statement.
The term is used to refer to Islamic extremists, although the ministry did not specifically mention any group.
But the raid comes after a series of mosque attacks this year claimed by the Islamic State group that killed dozens of people in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Two suspects opened fire and threw a grenade at police trying to arrest them after cordoning off a residential area in Monsia district, the ministry said.
Ahmed al-Zahrani, 21, and Mohammed al-Zahrani, 19, were detained.
At the second location, a Saudi coffee lounge in Riyadh's Dharma district, the suspects tried to flee in a vehicle after spotting the police.
"They then heavily opened fire at the security officers," who returned fire and disabled their vehicle.
The suspects then "seized a citizen's vehicle by force and took off in it."
During searches of the two locations, officers found a bomb belt "ready with explosives", a laboratory, several automatic rifles and pistols, ammunition, and "sketches of targeted areas," the ministry said.
The gunfire occurred in separate districts of Riyadh on Tuesday evening as officers pursued an investigation into "deviant groups," the interior ministry said in a statement.
The term is used to refer to Islamic extremists, although the ministry did not specifically mention any group.
But the raid comes after a series of mosque attacks this year claimed by the Islamic State group that killed dozens of people in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Two suspects opened fire and threw a grenade at police trying to arrest them after cordoning off a residential area in Monsia district, the ministry said.
Ahmed al-Zahrani, 21, and Mohammed al-Zahrani, 19, were detained.
At the second location, a Saudi coffee lounge in Riyadh's Dharma district, the suspects tried to flee in a vehicle after spotting the police.
"They then heavily opened fire at the security officers," who returned fire and disabled their vehicle.
The suspects then "seized a citizen's vehicle by force and took off in it."
During searches of the two locations, officers found a bomb belt "ready with explosives", a laboratory, several automatic rifles and pistols, ammunition, and "sketches of targeted areas," the ministry said.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
