Abdul Wahab Al-Shehri said he had learned that his relative, Khaled Abdul Hadi Muhammad Al-Shehri, 28, was among the three Saudis killed.

“The family received the news yesterday morning from a fourth Saudi fighting in Baghdad,” Okaz quoted him as saying. The paper gave no further details and Saudi officials were not immediately available for comment.

“Abdul Hadi, who was unmarried, was an employee at the Jubail Industrial Port. His Qatif-based family has had no information about him for a long time,” Abdul Wahab Al-Shehri told the paper.

Interior Minister Prince Naif said earlier this month that Riyadh had no information about Saudi men going to Baghdad to fight against US-British forces. Thousands of Arab volunteers are thought to have gone to Iraq to fight the Anglo-American forces.

Before the war, a tape believed to have been made by Osama Bin Laden, urged Muslims to fight the foreign forces. The war in Iraq has fueled anti-American sentiments among many Saudis who were already angry at what they saw as a smear campaign against both the Kingdom and Islam since Sept. 11 and also at the continued US support for Israel against the Palestinians.

In another development related to the situation in Iraq, the Kingdom has allowed some 40 Saudi families who were living in southern Iraq before the war to return home, Prince Naif said.

The first group of 130 family members, including Iraqi wives of Saudis, were scheduled to arrive yesterday through the Saudi-Kuwaiti border post at Roqae. The remaining 270 people will follow later.

“Directives have been issued to facilitate the entry of these families and other Saudis, whether from Al-Zubair or another Iraqi city,” Prince Naif said.

He said family members recorded in the Saudis’ ID cards as well as their Iraqi wives and children would be allowed to enter the Kingdom. “After that, we’ll look at the case of Iraqi wives in light of Saudi laws,” he added.

He explained that the Saudis might have gone to Iraq either for work, to visit relatives or for other reasons.

“We will not look at this aspect now. We will allow them to enter the Kingdom as they are Saudis,” he said.