2 Killed in shooting at US Consulate in Saudi Arabia

Riyadh, Jun 28 (EFE).- An assailant and a Nepalese security guard were killed Wednesday in a shooting at the United States Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s official news agency said.

“On Wednesday evening at 6:45 p.m., a person in a car stopped near the American Consulate building in Jeddah and got out carrying a firearm in his hand. Security authorities took the initiative to deal with him as required by the situation,” Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The attacker was pronounced dead at the scene following an exchange of shots with security forces.

A member of the US mission’s private security detail who was wounded in the shootout died later at a hospital in Jeddah, a Red Sea port with a population of nearly 4.7 million people that is the gateway to the Muslim holy city of Mecca.

“The US Embassy and Consulate remain in contact with Saudi authorities as they investigate the incident,” a State Department official told Al Arabiya television. “The Consulate was appropriately locked down, and no Americans were harmed in the attack.”

The shooting occurred on the first day of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice, one of the two principal celebration festivals of the Islamic calendar.

Eid al-Adha begins after the conclusion of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which this brought nearly 2 million Muslims to Mecca.

EFE

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