Saudi security forces, battling a wave of al Qaeda attacks in the world's biggest oil exporter, clashed with suspected militants in the capital Riyadh on Sunday.

Police arrested one suspect after the shootout in the southern Shifa district, which broke out with the occupants of a car after it tried to speed away from a patrol, an Interior Ministry security spokesman told the Saudi Press Agency.

No policemen or bystanders were hurt, the spokesman said.

Al Qaeda militants have waged a campaign of suicide bombings and shootings in the kingdom since 2003 aimed at driving Westerners out and hurting the economy and oil industry.

The shootout in Riyadh came hours after a Frenchman who worked for French defense electronics firm Thales was shot dead in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah. It was the second such killing this month by suspected al Qaeda militants.

Since the triple suicide bombings of expatriate housing compounds in Riyadh in May 2003, more than 150 people, including foreigners, security forces and militants have been killed.

Source:Agencies