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| Arabia | ||
| Three French nationals shot dead in Saudi: ministry | ||
| 2007-02-26 | ||
RIYADH (Rooters) - Three French nationals, some of them Muslims, were shot dead in Saudi Arabia on Monday in what appeared to be a militant attack, the Interior Ministry said.
Two of the group died at the scene and one of the two wounded died later in hospital, said the statement carried by the official news agency SPA. A state television report earlier said four had died. The group included four men, three women and a child, the ministry said. It said two of the dead were men. A security source said the attackers had singled out the men when shooting. "Three are dead and I am not sure about the state of the fourth one," an Interior Ministry spokesman told Saudi television. Militants swearing allegiance to al Qaeda launched a violent campaign to topple the U.S.-allied Saudi monarchy in 2003, with suicide bomb attacks on foreigners and government installations including the oil industry. There had been no major attacks targeting foreigners since 2004, when the campaign was at its height. Frenchman Laurent Barbot was shot dead in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah by suspected al Qaeda militants in September 2004. The last major attack was an attempt to storm an oil facility at Abqaiq in the east of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter. | ||
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #11 Thank you, everyone. I'll be dropping in from time to time. All the best! |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-02-26 23:51 |
| #10 Zenster, mirabile visu! |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-02-26 23:22 |
| #9 Zen nice to see you! White flags haram? Maybe the stains bothered the meteroities. |
| Posted by: Icerigger 2007-02-26 20:48 |
| #8 See also FREEREPUBLIC/LUCIANNE > Two Russian women killed in Thailand. Allegedly went out in bikinis in early AM to watch sun rise, never came back - killed sitting in tourist chairs? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-02-26 20:42 |
| #7 Hi, Zenster! Welcome back! Actually, by Saudi law, surely it's their very own fault -- like other traffic accidents, it wouldn't have happened had they not been in the country, muslim or not. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-02-26 18:28 |
| #6 Everybody knows that frogs are haram. This wisecrack brought to you by special request. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-02-26 18:25 |
| #5 Hopefully the French will someday learn that you cannot apologize your way out of every fight |
| Posted by: garbagecowboy 2007-02-26 16:45 |
| #4 The group was traveling in an area mainly restricted for Muslims only... I think I'm going to live long enough to witness the delivery of serious payback to muslims. |
| Posted by: Mark Z 2007-02-26 15:45 |
| #3 An Interior Ministry statement said a group of nine French nationals were fired on after a car stopped them near Medina in the west of the vast desert country. "They are all residents who work in Riyadh and who had gone on a desert trip," Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki told Saudi television, adding the attackers escaped. Desert road trips can be hazardous to your health. The spokesman said the group, thought to number 26, had split into two after a night in the desert near Medina, with some returning to Riyadh and the nine French nationals staying behind because some of them were Muslims who hoped to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. Western diplomats said the group may also have visited the historical site of Madain Saleh, north of Medina. The government statement said two men died at the scene and a third died later in hospital. One other is still in hospital in Medina. Saudi television said initially four had died. Officials said the attackers had singled out the men in the group, which included women and children. |
| Posted by: Steve 2007-02-26 15:40 |
| #2 Rouge en rouge. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-02-26 14:52 |
| #1 Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said the group of French travelers were resting on the side of a road when gunmen fired at their car, instantly killing two of the men. The third man died later after he was taken to a hospital, and the four Frenchman was in serious condition at an area hospital, al-Turki said. Women and children also were with the group, who were on a road 17 kilometers (10.6 miles) north of Medina, but they were uninjured. Saudi authorities were investigating the attack, al-Turki said. "Undoubtedly this is a criminal act, but it's too early to determine their motives and whether it is terrorism," he said. The group was traveling in an area mainly restricted for Muslims only because the road where the attack occurred leads to Medina, where the Prophet Muhammad died and was buried. Al-Turki said the French group was probably Muslim pilgrims. But it was possible they were traveling to another ancient site north of Medina where the Saudi government recently started allowing non-Muslims to visit. |
| Posted by: Steve 2007-02-26 13:21 |