Saudi police kill two in shootout
Saudi security forces have shot dead two men who were wanted for the weekend killing of a senior security official.
The suspects were killed on Tuesday in a shootout in the Red Sea city of Jedda. Three policemen were wounded in the exchange – one seriously, the official Saudi Press Agency said.
On Saturday, Saudi intelligence officer Lieutenant Colonel Mubarak al-Sawwat was shot dead as he was leaving his home in the holy city of Makka.
An Interior Ministry statement blamed his killing on the “deviant bunch” – a Saudi euphemism for the al-Qaida group.
It said that early on Tuesday, the security forces detected the two suspects in a car in Jedda.
The suspects opened fire before police returned fire and crippled their car, according to the ministry.
The suspects then fled to a building where they were ultimately shot dead.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Osama bin Laden, has witnessed a spate of attacks over the past two years that authorities have blamed on “terrorists” intent on destabilising the country.
On the other hand, Saudi dissidents say the ruling House of Saud is dictatorial and beholden to the West.