Saudi militant dies in shootout

The website also showed a hooded man purported to be Muqrin

The al-Qaeda leader who said he was behind the kidnapping and beheading of US engineer Paul Johnson in Saudi Arabia has been killed, reports say.

According to officials, Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin and two other senior militants were shot dead in a clash with security forces in Riyadh late on Friday.

Muqrin had also said he killed other Westerners in the kingdom.

Earlier a senior Saudi official said his government had left no stone unturned in hunting down the militants.

Adel al-Jubeir, an adviser to the Saudi crown prince, was speaking after the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, thanked the Saudi authorities for their efforts in pursuing such terrorists.

AFP news agency quoted security personnel as saying the shootout occurred in Riyadh's al-Malaz district following discoveries at the house where Johnson's body was found.

Two members of the security services were also killed in the attack while another two militants fled the scene, the agency said.

The other two militants who died were named as brothers Faisal and Bandar al-Dakheel.

Graphic photos of Johnson's body were shown on an Islamic website on Friday.