ABU DHABI [MENL] -- A new U.S.-trained Saudi counter-insurgency unit has succeeded in releasing more than 50 hostages held by Al Qaida.

The Saudi National Guard unit employed four U.S.-origin CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to land about 40 commandos on the roof of a Western housing compound near Khobar and battled Al Qaida insurgents in an early-morning raid on Sunday. The Saudi commandos succeeded in freeing Arab and Western oil workers taken hostage by the insurgency group.

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The United States has decided to sell a missile defense radar to Bahrain.

U.S. officials said the radar would serve as an important element of any emerging missile defense system. They said the radar would also have advanced air defense capabilities.

ABU DHABI [MENL] -- The Gulf Cooperation Council has held a regional military exercise that focused on air defense.

GCC officials said each of the six Gulf Arab states contributed forces for the annual exercise, which took place in the United Arab Emirates. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE comprise the GCC.

ABU DHABI [MENL] -- Saudi Arabia has failed to eliminate an Al Qaida cell in the northern part of the kingdom.

Saudi security officials acknowledged that an Al Qaida cell has withstood several operations by security forces in Al Qassim in the northern kingdom. The officials said the cell was believed based in Buraida, about 400 kilometers north of Riyad.

ABU DHABI [MENL] -- The United Arab Emirates has completed an ardurous project to receive nearly 400 French-origin main battle tanks.

The UAE Army has taken delivery of 388 Leclerc tank in a project that began in 1993. The Leclerc project was delayed for years by technical mishaps and demands by the UAE for enhancements to ensure the tank's operation in the harsh desert conditions of the Arabian Peninsula.

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Kuwait has signed a contract for the installation of electronic warfare systems on the AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter.

The U.S. Army has signed the contract for the supply of EW equipment plus associated engineering and support for the 16 Apaches Longbows sold to Kuwait for about $900 million. The army was authorized to produce the Apaches for the Kuwait Air Force on behalf of the U.S. government.

ABU DHABI [MENL] -- Saudi Arabia has established a new security force to battle Al Qaida.

Saudi officials said authorities have established a rapid reaction force to confront a range of operational scenarios. The officials said the force established by the Civil Defense Directorate would be trained and equipped to respond to insurgency attacks and natural disasters.

ABU DHABI [MENL] -- Bahrain, alarmed by the prospect that Iranian operatives were directing unrest in the kingdom, has replaced the nation's leading security official with a military commander.

Over the weekend, the king -- in a move that Arab diplomatic sources said reflected a change in policy -- fired Interior Minister Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa. Mohammed was replaced by Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Rashid Bin Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. Mohammed has served as the kingdom's interior minister since 1974.

ABU DHABI [MENL] -- The Gulf Cooperation Council has been urged to cooperate with regional states to halt the flow of illegal drugs to the West.

GCC countries have been asked to contribute assets and funding to block the flow of opium from Afghanistan to the Gulf region. From the Gulf, much of the opium continues to Lebanon for processing and then to the West.

ABU DHABI [MENL] -- Kuwait has launched another live-fire military exercise.

The exercise began on Tuesday and was meant to last three weeks. Officials said the exercise would include live fire from both ground and naval forces in the northern Persian Gulf.

The military said the exercise would take along the islands off the Kuwaiti coast. They said the islands included Umm Al Maradem, Kubar and Garo.