RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry says a group of 11 al-Qaida fighters has killed two border guards while trying to cross into Yemen before they themselves were captured.

The ministry said in a statement that the gunmen ambushed the border guard patrol early Monday and exchanged fire with them. Four militants were wounded and the remaining seven were arrested.

The statement listed the names of 10 Saudis among the militants, saying they had been imprisoned for crimes connected to al-Qaida activities but were released after going through the kingdom's rehabilitation program for militants. It says the other militant was Yemeni.

Saudi militants are usually released from prison after attending a rehabilitation program, but some have reportedly fled to Yemen to join the al-Qaida offshoot there.