Saudi security forces, battling a wave of al Qaeda violence, killed a suspected Islamic militant and wounded another in a shootout in the capital Riyadh.
The clash broke out after police stopped a vehicle believed to be used by militants and carrying false plates. The two men in the car started shooting and police returned fire, an Interior Ministry official told the Saudi Press Agency.
Police are trying to determine the identities of the two men, the official said.
Saudi-owned Al Arabiya satellite television earlier said security forces had surrounded homes in the eastern district of Rawda, looking for two or three other militants.
Last month security forces shot dead Khaled Ali Ali Haj, a Yemeni man believed to be a top al Qaeda operative in the kingdom, as well as another militant in a shootout in Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's birthplace, is battling a wave of militant violence blamed on the network.
Suicide bombings last May and November killed more than 50 people in Riyadh, including nine Americans. Both attacks were blamed on al-Qaeda.
Saudi authorities have offered rewards of up to $1.9 million for information leading to the arrest of prominent militants on the run. Of the 26 most wanted militants named by authorities in December, three have been killed and one surrendered.
Police have uncovered major stockpiles of weapons and explosives in their crackdown on militants. They have seized more than 20 tonnes of explosive materials, surface to air missiles, rocket propelled grenades, and hundreds of explosive belts.