JEDDAH: A gunman opened fire on security officers on Tuesday as they were searching a rest house in Yanbu for a man they believed opened fire on officer Mughli Al-Mukhlafi who was patrolling a highway on Monday.
Responding officers returned fire, injuring the gunman who later died at a local hospital, according to Col. Abdul Mohsen Al-Radadi, spokesman for Madinah province police.
The gunman, whose name was not given, attacked Al-Mukhlafi at a location on the Hijrah Road, 160 km south of Madinah. The officer was on patrol duty along the highway.
An intensive manhunt led to a rest house on the highway to Yanbu.
The officer, who was shot five times, is convalescing at an undisclosed location and reported to be in stable condition.
“While security officers were searching the rest house, the gunman suddenly opened fire on them,” Al-Radadi told Arab News. “Police then confronted him ensuing a gunbattle.”
The gunman was believed to be a wanted criminal responsible for several undisclosed crimes.
In an unrelated development, 20 inmates of an unnamed prison in Makkah attacked five police officers.
Makkah police spokesman Maj. Abdul Mohsen Al-Maiman confirmed the report and said the policemen injured in the attack were in stable condition. According to local press reports, some of the inmates involved in the attack are mentally ill.
The incident took place while the officers were distributing food to prisoners. The policemen were beaten and locked in a cell. Prison authorities dispatched extra forces to win the release of the policemen.
According to one source, security forces specialized in martial arts moved in to overpower the rioting detainees and rescue the prison officials. The officers were treated at the scene by Red Crescent responders.
