Gunmen kill 5 in attack in eastern Saudi Arabia

FE Team | Published: November 06, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

RIYADH, Nov 5 (AP): Saudi authorities arrested six people on Tuesday in connection with a shooting in the east of the kingdom the previous night that left five people dead and was apparently aimed at the country's Shiite minority.
The attack happened late Monday evening in the village of al-Dalwah, which is located in the country's eastern al-Ahsa region, a major oil-producing area that is also one of the main centers of the minority Shiite community in this Sunni-ruled OPEC giant. The attackers shot the victims with pistols and machine guns, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. The agency provided no further details on the identities of the attackers or the victims, and said an investigation is underway.
On Tuesday, the SPA quoted an unnamed Interior Ministry official as saying six suspects had been arrested near the capital, Riyadh, and in two areas in the country's east for having links to what it called a "terrorist crime."
Witnesses said the attack happened inside a Shiite mosque as worshippers were marking Ashoura, which commemorates the 7th-century death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad who is revered by Shiites. Sunni militants in neighboring Iraq frequently target Shiites during the holiday.
Meanwhile: Saudi Arabia has closed down the offices of a religious television channel accused of fomenting sectarian tension, after at least eight people were killed in an attack on Shi'ite Muslims marking a major religious anniversary.
Wesal TV has long been accused of broadcasting programs against Shi'ite Muslims, a minority that lives in the eastern and southwestern areas of mainly Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia.
The channel often described Shi'ites as "rejectionists", a pejorative label which dates back to the seventh century schism between Sunni and Shi'ite Islam.
The royal court later said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA on Wednesday that Khoja had been relieved of his post at his request and replaced by the minister for the haj pilgrimage.