A police raid on suspected Al Qaeda members in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, resulted in a running gun battle that killed a bystander: Gunmen flee after Saudi shooting.

Sa’d al-Faqih, head of the London-based opposition Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (Mira), said the Saudi police raid on Friday targeted suspected al-Qaeda members.

In an interview with Qatari-based al-Jazeera television, he claimed that Saudi police morale had “collapsed” since “pro-jihad men” had received a fatwa, or religious decree, “ordering them not to surrender or be taken prisoner”.

Their religious leaders had told them “to use weapons only if the police attack them,” Mr al-Faqih said.

Are the Saudis finally starting to take real action against the jihadis?