Saudi Arabia: Qaida Gunmen Kill 2 Border Soldiers

Suspected al-Qaida militants shot dead two Saudi soldiers in a clash Monday as they attempted to infiltrate the kingdom's borders into neighboring Yemen, the interior ministry said.

Ten Saudi militants who were recently released from prison, in addition to a Yemeni, were all arrested after they ambushed a border guard patrol and killed two soldiers, the ministry said.

"Security forces were able to pursue those assailants as they attempted to cross the Saudi border into Yemeni territory," the ministry said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency, adding that four gunmen were wounded in a firefight.

The ministry said the gunmen ambushed the patrol at dawn in the Sharura zone in the southwestern district of Najran.

"All those arrested among the Saudi (militants) had been arrested in the past over links with the deviant group," the ministry said, using a term that is usually employed to refer to al-Qaida militants.

It said they were "recently released" from prison.