News / Saudi Arabia

Saudi policeman gunned down in Eastern Province

Saturday, 25 June 2016 5:25 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 25 June 2016 5:26 AM ]

This file photo shows Saudi police officers standing by a patrol vehicle. (By AFP)

An unidentified assailant has shot and killed a police officer in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, the Saudi Interior Ministry says.

The ministry said in a statement that the attack took place at 1:45 a.m. local time on Saturday (2245 GMT Friday) in the city of Saihat, which lies on the east coast of Saudi Arabia and is 81 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of the capital, Riyadh.

The ministry identified the slain policeman as Officer Faisal al-Hardi, the driver of a police car, condemning the shooting as a “terrorist act.”

It further said that Saudi authorities have launched a search operation to hunt down the attacker.

On May 8, two unknown militants opened fire on a security checkpoint in the western Saudi city of Ta’if, killing a soldier identified as Private Saeed al-Harithy in the ensuing clashes. The assailants later retreated to the mountainous village of Thaqif. Saudi troops said they found an explosive vest and bomb-making materials following an operation against the militants.

A week earlier, gunmen had fatally shot Saudi Corporal Khalaf al-Harithi at a police station outside the holy city of Mecca.

Saudi Arabia has been hit by a spate of deadly shootings and bombings targeting security forces or the country’s Shia minority since last year. The local branches of the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group have claimed responsibility for many of the attacks.

The Riyadh regime is itself widely viewed as one of the major supporters of the Daesh militants operating inside Syria and neighboring Iraq. Takfirism, which is the terrorist group’s trademark, is largely influenced by Wahhabism, the radical ideology dominating Saudi Arabia and freely preached by Saudi clerics.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk