ABU DHABI ø A German national has been shot and killed in Saudi
Arabia.
The Saudi Interior Ministry said the German was an employee for Saudi
Arabia's national airline and was killed by several assailants on Saturday.
The ministry said the German was shot on a crowded street in Riyad after he
drew cash from an ATM bank machine.
Al Qaida has been targeting foreigners and Saudi security officers in
the campaign to undermine the kingdom. Last week, four Al Qaida insurgents
were killed in a shootout with security forces outside of Riyad, Middle East Newsline reported.
The German, who was not immediately named, was the first Western
national killed since the Al Qaida attack on a Saudi petrochemical and
refinery complex in Yanbu on May 1. Six Western engineers were killed in the
attack.
Saudi security sources said a car blocked the path of the German as he
left the bank. One of the passengers shot the German in the head, returned
to the car and drove off.
But an Al Qaida-aligned website asserted that several operatives,
including a senior member, escaped. The website identified the operative as
Bandar Al Dakheel, whom Saudi officials had identified as one of those
killed in the May 20 shootout.