Gunmen kill Saudi security officer and foreign national in Buraidah attack

Jeddah, Jul 9: A member of Saudi Arabia’s security forces and a foreign citizen were killed in an attack at a checkpoint in Buraidah, Qassim Province, on Sunday.

Two of the attackers were also killed and another injured in the ensuing gunfight, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The three men opened fire at 3:45 p.m. local time from a Hyundai Elantra, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

“A security checkpoint on the Buraydah-Tarfiyah road in Qassim region came under fire from three terrorists riding in a vehicle on Sunday afternoon,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Two of the terrorists were killed and a third was wounded and transferred to hospital,” it added.

The dead security officer was identified as Sergeant Sulaiman Abdul Aziz Al-Abdel Latif. The foreign national who was killed was from Bangladesh. An investigation is under way.

Saudi Arabia is at the forefront in the fight against terrorism. The Kingdom has also been a victim of terrorist attacks. The Saudi security forces have been able to thwart several terrorist attacks in the past. In February 2018, a Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh sentenced to death a Saudi for joining the Tarout Battalion terrorist cell.

He was convicted of harming national security, killing and intimidating security forces, attacking public property, undertaking acts of sabotage and chaos, obstructing roads, inciting strife and division in the country, and participating in demonstrations in Qatif.

The convict threw Molotov cocktails at security forces, shouted anti-government slogans at demonstrations, and used his car to drive around other wanted fugitives.