JEDDAH, 27 February 2007 — Three French expatriates in the Kingdom were killed and another man was injured yesterday in a drive-by shooting northwest of the Kingdom by unidentified gunmen, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.
Spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said some members of the French group, who came from Riyadh and who were taking a rest on the side of a road, were planning to head toward the holy city of Makkah to perform Umrah.
“A group of French residents including four men, three women and two children came under fire from an unidentified car while on their way back from a trip and as they stopped in a desert area for rest,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted Turki as saying.
French President Jacques Chirac expressed shock over the attack and described it as “hateful.” Chirac thanked Saudi authorities for helping the victims and underscored “the importance of shedding full light on this tragedy to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested, brought to justice and punished and to ensure the security of our compatriots.”
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy also condemned the attack as a “horrible act” and vowed to find those responsible.
“French authorities have mobilized alongside Saudi authorities so that full light is shed on the incident and that the perpetrators are arrested and punished,” said Douste-Blazy in a statement.
Douste-Blazy said the French ambassador to Saudi Arabia and consul general in Jeddah plan to visit the site of the attack and talk with Saudi authorities. He said one of the men killed was a teacher at a high school and the other two worked for a private French company, which sources identified as Schneider Electric.
Al-Turki said the attack took place while the group was taking rest in a desert area located about 17 km away from the Madinah-Tabuk Highway. He said Saudi security authorities have launched an investigation into the incident. He did not say whether the shooting is being viewed as a hate-crime or act of terrorism by extremists targeting foreigners.
A French diplomat, who requested anonymity, earlier said four men died in the incident, adding that two others wounded in the shooting were in “serious condition.”
But Al-Turki said: “It appeared that two men were killed on the spot. Two others were wounded (but) one of them died in hospital. The other man is receiving necessary treatment and we have made arrangements for the transportation and accommodation of the women and children.”
According to French Foreign Ministry sources, the person injured is a 17-year-old boy.
The attack is the first to target Western expatriates since a Briton was wounded in a knife attack in November in the eastern industrial city of Jubail. Westerners were repeatedly targeted after suspected Al-Qaeda militants launched a string of shootings and bombings in May 2003.
—With input from agencies
