RIYADH, August 12 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Four members of the Saudi security forces were shot dead by suspected extremists they were hunting in southern Riyadh on Tuesday, August 12, a security official said.

The official, who requested anonymity, added that suspected militants opened fire on members of the special security forces who besieged villas in the city's Al-Suwaidi residential district, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Exchanges of fire resumed at around 7:30 pm (1630 GMT) after a brief lull, and a helicopter buzzed overhead at one point as security forces surrounded a villa under construction in which a group of at least five gunmen was believed to be holing up.

The security official, who earlier said three security men were fatally shot, also said one gunman was seriously wounded in the shootout.

It was not immediately clear if the security forces arrested any of the wanted men from the villa, located in a side street.

Residents said the hunt for the militants started on Monday night.

Villas in the area of the shootout were evacuated Tuesday evening as security forces took up positions on rooftops, an AFP correspondent reported.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera TV channel over the phone, Saad Al-Faqih, head of the London-based Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA), said witnesses told him five people were killed in the shootout.

He added that one of 19 militants wanted by the Saudi security authorities was arrested in the operation.