JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Saudi security forces shot dead a suspected al Qaeda militant and arrested another after one of them opened fire at agents at a checkpoint on Friday, the interior ministry said.
One of the two men, who was disguised as a woman, opened fire after their car was stopped at the checkpoint in the central town of Wadi al-Dawasir, said Mansour al-Turki, the ministry's security spokesman.
"We have a strong suspicion it is al Qaeda, but we are still trying to identify the dead man and questioning the detained suspect," the spokesman said.
Saudi security forces have stepped up their campaign against al Qaeda after the Islamic militant groups's Yemeni and Saudi wings merged in 2009 into a regional organisation, which claimed responsibility for the failed bombing of a U.S.-bound passenger plane last Christmas.
In November, Saudi Arabia said it had captured 149 al Qaeda militants over several months, who were raising money and recruiting members to carry out attacks in the kingdom, the world's top oil exporter.
A wide counter-terrorism drive halted a violent al Qaeda campaign in the Gulf Arab country which lasted from 2003 to 2006. (Reporting by Asma Alsharif; writing by Firouz Sedarat)
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