Saudi soldier killed in Shia-majority Qatif province

Security patrol comes under rocket attack in kingdom’s oil-rich eastern region

By Ahmed al-Masri

DOHA, Qatar (AA) - A Saudi soldier was killed and another five injured when their patrol came under a rocket attack in the country’s eastern Qatif province, Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry announced Tuesday.

According to a ministry spokesman quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency, the attackers used rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).

A security patrol had been working to maintain public order in Qatif’s Al-Masoura neighborhood when it came under attack, the spokesman said, adding that the search for the perpetrators was still underway.

Tuesday’s incident comes one week after a similar attack in the same area left a Saudi child and a Pakistani resident dead and another 14 people -- including four security personnel -- injured.

In recent weeks, Saudi Arabia’s Shia-majority eastern region, especially the provinces of Qatif and Dammam, have seen several attacks on security personnel.

In late March, the Interior Ministry announced that two “terrorist elements” had been killed and four others arrested in Qatif’s Al-Awamiya town.

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