RIYADH, April 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The Saudi Interior Ministry declared on Tuesday that security forces killed 14 terrorists, captured five and forced one to surrender between Sunday and Tuesday, ending the largest anti-terror battle in two years.

    The ministry said in a statement that after two-day besiegementand cut-off of water and electricity, security forces stormed on Tuesday a walled compound where the well-armed militants with a large arsenal of weapons were hiding.

    Fourteen security officers were injured in the 60-hour action in the desert town of Rass, 350 km northwest of capital Riyadh.

    It said that the attack, in which hundreds of security officers participated, was the first war of attrition against terrorists in the country.

    Local reports quoted Interior Minister spokesman Brig. Gen. Mansour al-Turki as saying that there was no chance for the terrorists to escape, adding that "We got them all."

    The killed militants included Abdulkarim al-Mejjati and Saud Homoud al-Oteibi, two on a list of 26 most wanted militant suspects published by the Saudi government in December 2003.

    By now, the Saudi government has killed or captured 23 on the list.

    The battle was the longest single one against the largest band of militants that Saudi forces have faced in the two-year campaign, with the killing of the highest number of militants in a single fight.

    The previous record of terrorist toll in one battle was six, who were killed in July 2003 when police raided a farm in Qassim, a town near Rass.

    Official figures showed that a spate of bombings and shootings blamed on al-Qaida have killed 90 civilians in Saudi Arabia since May 2003.

    Many of the attacks have targeted Westerners. Enditem