Several armed men, who stormed into King Fahd hospital in Jizan, located in southern Saudi Arabia Tuesday, clashed with Saudi security forces. According to media reports, during the incident several hostages, apparently hospital workers, had been taken.
Following a few hours of clashes, the armed men eventually gave themselves in. According to official reports, one Saudi policeman was killed and three armed men were shot dead. Four policemen were slightly wounded.
One of those killed was identified as Sultan al-Qahtani, one of a list of 19 suspected "extremists" the Saudi government announced in May it was seeking.
Five days after that announcement on May 12 a further 35 people were killed in a wave of three suicide bombings at residential complexes in Riyadh.
In June, Qahtani had threatened in a letter published on an Islamic website to take Americans hostage.
According to press sources, the incident on Tuesday started after Saudi security forces raided a suspected hideout in Jazan looking for "wanted men". According to SPA, the suspects intended to carry out "terrorist" acts and possessed machine guns and hand grenades.
The sources added that four armed men managed to escape police officials and stormed into the hospital compound taking the hostages, before they surrendered. (Albawaba.com)
