Four killed in ‘foiled’ attack on Saudi police station: Reports

Four attackers have been killed in an assault on a police station in Saudi Arabia’s central province of Riyadh.

The London-based Arabic-language daily newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported that the assailants targeted state security forces in the town of Zulfi, located about 260 kilometers (160 miles) north of the capital Riyadh, on Sunday.

It said they rammed a vehicle into a security barrier around the station in an attempt to gain entry.

Two gunmen then stepped out of the vehicle and opened fire, sparking a gun battle with police.

Four killed in ‘foiled’ attack on Saudi police station: Reports

A third attacker attempted to flee but was also gunned down, while a fourth died as he tried to set off an explosive belt.

There were no immediate reports about casualties among the security personnel.

The Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television news network reported that the assailants had been carrying machine guns, bombs, and Molotov cocktails.

Militants have targeted security installations in Saudi Arabia for years.

Earlier this month, two men armed with explosives were killed and two others arrested in an attack on a security checkpoint in the oil-rich and Shia-populated Eastern Province.

Arabiya said the incident had occurred on Abu Haidriyah Highway, which links Bahrain to Saudi Arabia and extends to the Kuwaiti border. The assailants were reportedly attempting to evade the security checkpoint as they tried to flee the country.

Last year, a member of the security forces and a Bangladeshi national were killed in an assault on a security checkpoint in the city of Buraydah.

A policeman was killed in a separate attack in the southwestern city of Taif.