Jeddah: Two terror suspects killed by police in mountains near Mecca today (June 2, 2004) were linked to the weekend carnage in Al-Khobar, the Saudi Interior Ministry said.

"In the hunt for the assailants (behind) the criminal Al-Khobar incident, (security forces) spotted important elements linked to this incident, one of whom was disguised as a woman," a Ministry spokesman said, quoted by the official SPA news agency.

Security forces cornered the two last night in an isolated zone of Al-Hada region, on the Taif-Mecca road, he added.

The spokesman said the suspects opened fire on security forces before abandoning their car for "a mountainous region with the hope of escaping".

Today at 06:00 hours (08:30 IST), the two men lobbed grenades and opened fire on police, who responded, "leading to the deaths of the two wanted suspects", he added.

Gunmen took foreign hostages in a weekend carnage that left 22 people dead and 25 others wounded in the Eastern oil city of Al-Khobar.