“A security patrol vehicle caught fire after it was attacked with Molotov bombs in Awamiya on Thursday. The security personnel also came under gunfire while they were trying to put out the fire. In the ensuing exchange of gunfire, two of the assailants were injured. Security men took them to hospital where one of them died,” Ministry of Interior spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said in a statement quoted by the SPA reported on Friday.
Al-Turki affirmed that security men would deal firmly with any situation that threatens the security and safety of the country. Since October there have been attempts to stoke trouble and rioting in Awamiya, which was attributed by the ministry to some people serving a foreign agenda. The ministry issued a list of 23 Saudis wanted in connection with the riots on Jan. 3.
Al-Turki pointed out then that it was evident the men were working systematically to spread violence. He said the wanted men had criminal records.
The 23 men, Al-Turki revealed, were asked to present themselves to the authorities after the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution has reviewed all criminal evidence. Three of them later turned themselves in.
The government has pledged to use “an iron fist” after 14 people, including 11 policemen, had been wounded in an attack on a police station in Awamiya in October.
