The spokesman however refused to reveal where the suspects were killed. Some al Qaeda militants conduct various attacks in neighbouring Iraq and Yemen. Mohamed Abdel Rahman al-Rashed, 28, and Sultan Rady al-Utaibi, 26, have joined the "deviant group" - common Saudi terminology for al Qaeda - outside the kingdom and "participated in criminal plans that targeted the country."
The third Fahd Saleh al-Juteily, 28, was a former prisoner in the US detention facility in Guantanamo, Cuba. He had joined an experimental "rehabilitation" programme from which he later escaped. The three men, who left the kingdom between 2005-2007 using false documents, were all listed in the country's wanted list. Last year, the government published a list of 85 men world-wide it said adhered to "deviant" ideologies. In August, the deputy interior minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, survived an assassination attempt when a man wanted on terrorism charges blew himself up in the minister's office.