Seven prisoners escape Saudi Jail
Pakistan Times Wire Service

RIYADH: Seven inmates held for security reasons have escaped from a prison in Riyadh, the Saudi interior ministry said Saturday.

A spokesman for the ministry said the seven were being detained "for security reasons," a term usually reserved for Islamic militants responsible for a wave of violence that has shaken the kingdom since May 2003.

The spokesman called on citizens to cooperate with authorities in tracking down the seven men, six Saudis and a Yemeni national.

Saudi officials announced the arrests in late June of 43 Islamic activists, including two Somalis, an Ethiopian and an Iraqi.

Their arrests came a day after six suspected members of the militant group Al-Qaeda were killed in a gunbattle with Saudi security forces in Riyadh.●