Fierce clashes broke out between rival security forces in the Yemeni capital Friday, two days after President Ali Abdullah Saleh inked a power transfer deal which sponsors had hoped would end the violence.

Dissident troops from the First Armored Brigade led by General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar exchanged mortar and machinegun fire in the early hours with forces of the central security services commanded by Saleh's nephew Yehya, residents said.

Two men were shot dead during renewed Shiite protests in Saudi Arabia, as police exchanged fire with gunmen who "infiltrated" the funeral of another protester, the interior ministry said Thursday.

It said the new deaths late Wednesday brought to four the death toll of protests that began on Monday in the Eastern Province, while nine others were wounded, including two policemen and a woman, according to a statement carried by SPA state news agency.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Wednesday accused Iran of continuing to interfere in neighboring Gulf states, warning that its nuclear program could pose a threat to regional security.

In a ministerial meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Faisal spoke of "continued Iranian meddling in the internal affairs of the countries of the region."

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah signed a deal on Wednesday to hand over his powers after 33 years in office which Saudi King Abdullah hailed as marking a "new page" in the impoverished country's history.

Live footage of the ceremony aired by Saudi state television showed Saleh ink the Gulf- and U.N.-brokered agreement in Riyadh's Al-Yamama royal palace watched over by members of the Yemeni opposition as well as King Abdullah and Gulf foreign ministers.

The United States said Tuesday it has placed a suspected Saudi member of an Islamist militant group based in Lebanon on its list of international terrorists.

The State Department said it had designated Ibrahim Suleiman Hamad al-Hablain, known as Abu Jabal, a "specially designated global terrorist," a classification that bars Americans from doing business with him or on his behalf.

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that one of its citizens has been killed in the restive Syrian city of Homs, demanding an explanation from Damascus for what it called a "sinful attack."

In a statement issued by the kingdom's official SPA news agency, a Saudi embassy official in the Syrian capital said Hussein bin Bandar bin Khalaf al-Anzi died early Monday while visiting family in Homs.

One protester died of wounds sustained when security forces opened fire on protesters in the Shiite Qatif region of Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, medical officials said on Tuesday.

Ali al-Felfel was hit by a bullet in the chest Monday night and died in hospital later, they said.

Saudi security forces opened fire on protesters in the Eastern Province Shiite region of al-Qatif on Monday, wounding several people, witnesses said.

The demonstrators had taken to the streets in the town of Shwika to protest against the death overnight Sunday of a 19-year-old Shiite man, Nasser al-Mheishi, accusing police of killing him, the witnesses said.

Saudi Crown Prince and Interior Minister Nayef bin Abdul Aziz discussed latest developments with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe in Riyadh on Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s state news agency SPA reported.

The two officials discussed "the latest regional and international developments and subjects of mutual interest," SPA reported.

A fire broke out at a girls' private school in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, killing two teachers and injuring 44 other people, a local civil defense official said on Sunday.

Abdel Rahman al-Ghamdi told Agence France Presse that firefighters and emergency rescue teams backed by air support managed to evacuate 700 students, 110 teachers and 32 employees from the three-storey school building after the fire broke out on Saturday afternoon.