Two Al-Qaeda men killed in Iraq: Reports

Two members of the Saudi branch of Al-Qaeda have been killed in fighting in Iraq.

Two members of the Saudi branch of Al-Qaeda have been killed in fighting in Iraq, militants linked to the extremist network claimed on an Internet website.

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"Abu Hassan al-Makki and Abu Nasser al-Chadi were being sought by the Saudi security services," the website said, giving the two men's war names. It also posted a video of the men before their alleged deaths on Saturday.

If their identities are confirmed, this will be the first time that the site of the Mujaheddin Consultative Council, which specialises in issuing Al-Qaeda statements, has shown pictures of Saudians sought by the Riyadh government.

The Mujaheddin Consultative Council is a movement of Sunni militants operating under the aegis the Iraqi branch of Al-Qaeda, led by Jordan's Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

The video on the website shows the two men speaking to camera, their faces uncovered, surrounded by armed men in balaclavas.

"The end of the Saudi regime is nigh," says one of the man, identified as Abu Hassan al-Makki.

"I left the Arabian Peninsula to come and fight in Iraq," says the other, identified as Abu Nasser al-Chadi.

In June 2005, the Saudi authorities published a list of 36 people suspected of being involved in a series of attacks that have plagued the kingdom since May 2003. The attacks have been claimed by self-proclaimed Al-Qaeda supporters.

In November 2005, the US army quoted a study carried out by the intelligence services of Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region as saying around 3,000 foreign fighters had joined forces in Iraq with local militants.