Saudi Gazette report RIYADH – Police arrested on Monday evening two wanted persons after a gunfight in the town of Al-Awamiya in the Eastern Province, Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansur Al-Turki said in a statement carried by Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday. Police exchanged fire with the two men, wounding them in legs before they were captured. They were taken to a hospital for treatment, Al-Turki said. One of those detained was Abdullah Al-Asreeh, who was named on a list of 23 wanted people. In January, the authorities published the list of 23 men wanted on suspicion of involvement in disturbances in the Qatif region, where seven people have been killed since November 2011. He was arrested along with an unarmed man who faces charges of selling drugs and alcohol. Security forces spotted them in an area for buying and selling damaged cars in Awamiya in Qatif after evening prayers on Monday. Al-Turki said the suspects will be referred to the the authorities concerned to complete legal procedures against them. He reiterated the ministry's determination to pursue and apprehend wanted persons and those trying to create sedition. He urged those who are named in the list of the wanted people to surrender themselves at the nearest police station. The spokesman warned that anyone who gives the suspects shelter or help them to hide and provide them with any kind of support will face penal action. Meanwhile, a policeman was injured in a shootout that took place at Awamiya police station at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Spokesman of Eastern Province police said that the police station came under intense fire from an unknown source and policemen at the station returned fire. The policeman who wounded in the fight was admitted to King Fahd Medical Complex in Dhahran. Security forces launched a manhunt to nab the culprit.
