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Unidentified attackers killed in rare shooting and suicide bomb assault on border reinforced by Saudi Arabia after ISlL seized Iraqi province of Anbar.
A Saudi general in charge of border security with Isil-controlled areas of Iraq has been killed in a suicide attack.
General Oudah al-Belawi, commander of border operations in Saudi Arabia’s northern zone, died after a skirmish between guards and attackers early on Monday, local newspapers reported.
The Saudi interior ministry confirmed a senior officer and another guard were killed after the attackers opened fire at a patrol.
One of the attackers was captured, but blew himself up with a suicide belt.
The attack took place at the Suweif border post, 25 miles from the town of Arar, on the border with the Iraq province of Anbar.
Anbar is the centre of the long-running Sunni insurgency against the Iraqi government, and is now largely under the control of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
If Isil was responsible, it is not clear whether there was a broader strategic purpose behind the attack.
The group has called for “lone wolf” attacks against the coalition of states fighting it in Iraq and Syria, which includes Saudi Arabia.
There have previously been long-range mortar attacks which have come over the border, but this is the first recorded direct assault.
Saudi police blamed Isil for an attack on members of the country’s minority Shia community in al-Ahsa province in November, which killed eight.
The border is protected by a series of earth berms and fences and closely monitored by camera and radar, while Saudi Arabia sent thousands of troops to back up a border guards force there in July.
A second attacker was shot dead in the initial exchange of fire, while another border guard was wounded, officials said.
Saudi general "killed in attack on border with Isil-held Iraq" - Telegraph
A Saudi general in charge of border security with Isil-controlled areas of Iraq has been killed in a suicide attack.
General Oudah al-Belawi, commander of border operations in Saudi Arabia’s northern zone, died after a skirmish between guards and attackers early on Monday, local newspapers reported.
The Saudi interior ministry confirmed a senior officer and another guard were killed after the attackers opened fire at a patrol.
One of the attackers was captured, but blew himself up with a suicide belt.
The attack took place at the Suweif border post, 25 miles from the town of Arar, on the border with the Iraq province of Anbar.
Anbar is the centre of the long-running Sunni insurgency against the Iraqi government, and is now largely under the control of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
If Isil was responsible, it is not clear whether there was a broader strategic purpose behind the attack.
The group has called for “lone wolf” attacks against the coalition of states fighting it in Iraq and Syria, which includes Saudi Arabia.
There have previously been long-range mortar attacks which have come over the border, but this is the first recorded direct assault.
Saudi police blamed Isil for an attack on members of the country’s minority Shia community in al-Ahsa province in November, which killed eight.
The border is protected by a series of earth berms and fences and closely monitored by camera and radar, while Saudi Arabia sent thousands of troops to back up a border guards force there in July.
A second attacker was shot dead in the initial exchange of fire, while another border guard was wounded, officials said.
Saudi general "killed in attack on border with Isil-held Iraq" - Telegraph
