RIYADH, Dec 30 (AFP) - Saudi security forces have killed 10 suspected Al-Qaeda militants in two days of clashes in the capital which was rocked by twin car bombings that left two people dead and injured 100 more, reports said Thursday.
Wednesday's bomb attacks in the oil-rich kingdom, which has been battling a wave of Islamic unrest since May last year, prompted security alerts elsewhere in the Gulf region and sent world oil prices rising.
The militants struck at the heart of the Saudi regime's security apparatus, targeting the interior ministry and a special forces base in Riyadh.
"It is clear now that their aim is not confined to fighting 'infidels' as they claim, but also... to destabilise security through killing Muslims and harming peaceful citizens," Deputy Interior Minister Prince Ahmad bin Abdul Aziz said during a visit to the site of the ministry blast.
A Pakistani taxi driver and a Saudi security man were killed in the attack on the ministry building, the Al-Eqtissadiyah newspaper said, adding that about 90 were wounded in the two blasts.
The interior ministry said six guards were wounded in the attack on its offices, along with several bystanders, and that foreigners were among the wounded in the second explosion at the special forces base in eastern Riyadh.
Ministry spokesman Mansur al-Turki said both attacks appeared to have been suicide operations, as human remains were found inside the vehicles.
In the first attack, the bomber rammed the gate of the ministry compound, triggering a shootout with guards before the vehicle blew up, witnesses said.
In the second, guards at the special forces base intercepted the vehicle before it reached the gate, forcing the bomber to detonate his charge more than 350 metres (yards) away, the ministry said.
Saudi forces killed a total of 10 militants in gunbattles both Tuesday and Wednesday, state television said Thursday.
They included two of the kingdom's most wanted men -- Saudi nationals Sultan Bjad Saadun al-Otaibi and Bandar Abderrahman al-Dakhil, the television said.
Yemeni national Ibrahim Ahmed Abdel Majeed al-Reemy, believed to act as intermediary between Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and fighters loyal to him in the kingdom, was also among the dead.
Saudi Arabia has been swept by a wave of violence since May 2003, much of it directed against foreigners, which the authorities blame on Al-Qaeda of Saudi-born bin Laden.
More than 100 people have died and hundreds more been wounded.
The latest violence came just two weeks after the airing of a purported voice message from bin Laden urging his followers to rise up against the Riyadh regime and attack oil sites in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
On Wednesday, the US embassy had again urged nationals in the kingdom to exercise extra caution.
In neighbouring Kuwait, the authorities beefed up security around vital installations such as oil facilities and potential Western targets, security officials and witnesses said.
Units from the national guard and special forces were deployed around hotels, Western residential buildings and key installations as police set up checkpoints along roads, witnesses said.
Oil prices surged on news of the bombings, with New York's main crude oil contract shot higher by 1.87 dollars to close at 43.64 dollars on Wednesday before dropping back on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia is the world's number one oil producer and exporter, and the only one with spare capacity to meet spikes in demand in consumer countries.
12/30/2004 15:26 GMT - AFP