Officials in Saudi Arabia say three armed men were killed during a firefight with security forces in the capital, Riyadh, early Tuesday.
An Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Mansour Turki said seven troops were wounded in the clash with suspected terrorists, but none of the injuries were life threatening.
He said the fighting erupted after security forces carried out a pre-dawn raid on a building in an eastern neighborhood of the city.
The spokesman said troops freed seven women and children, who were in the building. But it was not clear if they were relatives of the gunmen or held against their will.
Saudi Arabia has been battling al-Qaida linked Muslim extremists since early last year, when suicide bombers struck residential buildings in Riyadh, killing 35 people.