MIDDLE EAST Shootout in Saudi capital kills 2 militants, 1 policeman

A militant who surrendered under an amnesty plan apologized on TV.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- A shootout today killed two militants and one policeman, a security official said, adding that at least one other militant fled.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the shootout and police chase occurred in the al-Quds neighborhood in eastern Riyadh.
It was not immediately clear if the militants were on a list of 26 most wanted terrorists sought in relation to previous attacks in the Gulf kingdom.
During the past year, Saudi Arabia has been rocked by suicide bombings, gunbattles and kidnappings targeting foreign workers. The attacks have been attributed to Al-Qaida and sympathizers of the anti-Western terror network headed by Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden.
The most recent attack was the June 12 kidnapping of American engineer Paul M. Johnson, Jr., who was beheaded by his captors after the government rejected a demand to release all detained militants in the oil-rich country.
After 13 months of terror strikes linked to Al-Qaida, Saudi Arabia's King Fahd decreed last week that the government would spare the lives of militants who surrendered within one month.
The first Saudi militant to surrender under the amnesty urged others to turn themselves in and "go back to the path of righteousness."
In an interview late Tuesday with the state-run satellite news network, Al-Ekbariya, Saaban bin Mohamed bin Abdullah Alleihi al-Shihri apologized to the Saudi government and people by saying "I am very regretful for what I have done."
It is unclear what al-Shihri was wanted for.
"Fear God, go back to your senses, declare your repentance and listen to what the clergy said about how sinful terror acts are," al-Shihri told wanted militants during his televised statement.