RIYADH, Nov. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- A Muslim militant was shot dead by Saudi police on Thursday in Riyadh, with eight policemen slightly wounded, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

    The report quoted a Saudi Interior Ministry official as saying that some "terrorist elements" fired machine guns and threw bombs at the policemen who were checking a militants' hideout in the Swaidi neighborhood of Riyadh.

    "The security forces responded appropriately" and killed one of the militants, he said, adding that eight security men were "slightly injured."

    Other militants had escaped, the official said, without giving the exact number or further details.

    Thursday's raid is the second such strike on militant hideouts this week.

    Saudi Interior Minister Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz said Tuesday that acell of the al-Qaida terror network had been planning to kill Muslim pilgrims in Mecca during the holy month of Ramadan but the attempt was foiled.

    Two terror suspects were killed and six others were arrested by the Saudi security forces during a shootout on Monday, the ministersaid.

    The suspects were spotted in two separate sites in the district of Hai Shara'i when they were planning to attack Muslim pilgrims, he added.

    Saudi Arabia has launched an intensive crackdown on Muslim militants after a series of terror attacks which killed dozens of Saudi and foreign residents. Enditem