4 Saudi officers dead, 4 injured in Asir gun attack
- By AFP -
- Apr 20, 2018
RIYADH: Four Saudi officers were shot dead and four others wounded today when their check post came under gunfire in southern Asir province, state media said citing the interior ministry.
Three officers were instantly killed when the outpost came under attack, the Saudi Press Agency reported, without specifying who was behind it.
“Security officials have succeeded in identifying a number of suspects involved in the crime and arrested two of them, both Saudi nationals,” SPA said.
“In the interest of the investigation, their names cannot be revealed.”
A third opened fire as he tried to escape, killing the fourth officer. Saudi Arabia has been embroiled in a long-running conflict with southern neighbour Yemen since March 2015.
In March 2015, the kingdom launched a coalition of Arab states fighting to roll back Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen and restore the country’s internationally-recognised government to power.
Riyadh and Shiite rival Tehran back opposing sides in a range of hotspots across the mainly Sunni Muslim Middle East, including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Last November, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman vowed to “pursue terrorists until they are wiped from the face of the earth” as he presided over the first meeting of an Islamic counter-terrorism alliance involving around 40 Muslim countries.