Saudi forces detain 43 suspected Islamists

By Afp, Riadh
Saudi security forces have detained 43 suspected Islamists, including two Somalis, an Ethiopian and an Iraqi, the interior ministry said Saturday after a deadly gunbattle in the capital.

The ministry said the arrests had been made in different parts of the oil-rich kingdom since May 9.

It gave no explanation for the delayed announcement, which followed a firefight in Riyadh Friday in which six suspected Islamic militants and a policeman were killed.

The Saudi authorities have been battling an Islamist insurgency blamed on sympathisers of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network since 2003.