Two Saudi police killed in gunbattle

RIYADH—Two Saudi police officers were killed by gunmen holed up in the commercial capital of Jeddah, an interior ministry statement has said.
“Guards on duty around Al-Ruwis prison came under fire from a nearby building leading to the death of two security force members,” said the statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency on Thursday.
Ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki said earlier that the violence erupted when gunmen trying to evade a checkpoint sought refuge in a building under construction in the central Al-Ruwis district of the Red Sea city. Security forces surrounded the building and exchanges of fire were continuing, Turki said, adding that it was not known how many gunmen were involved.
State television said at least three “terrorists” were holed up in the building. Al-Arabiya, the Saudi-financed and Dubai-based satellite television station which broke the story, said ambulances had been sent to pick up an unspecified number of casualties—Agencies