Four killed in Saudi Arabia checkpoint shootout

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Saudi Arabian authorities say they have launched a criminal investigation into a drive-by shooting and subsequent gunfight that led to four deaths at a central checkpoint.

The dead included two attackers, a security officer and a Bangladeshi civilian, the kingdom's interior ministry 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.

Sergeant Suleiman Abdelaziz Abdel Latif was named as the Saudi fatality. The ministry said a Bangladeshi resident was also killed but did not announce his name.

Four Saudi policemen were killed and four others wounded on April 20 in an attack targeting a checkpoint in the southwestern province of Asir.

The kingdom has seen numerous attacks in recent years by jihadists, including Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, against security forces.

It has also seen clashes between Shiite militants and security forces in eastern provinces.

[Cover Photo: A general view of the skyline in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. /VCG Photo]

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Source(s): AFP