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Terrorists Open Fire in Qatif Killing a Police Officer | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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The stolen Prado vehicle used by gunmen. — SPA photos


Damam- Saudi interior ministry announced that security officer Fahid Qaeid al Rowaili was shot dead after a police shootout near a Qatif’s central hospital, in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

Rowaili’s body was moved to the eastern province’s Jawf region, his birthplace.

The security patrol came under fire at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday when it tried to stop a suspicious car near the Qatif Central Hospital, the Interior Ministry said in a statement circulated by Saudi Press Agency.

Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, Interior Ministry spokesman, said the incident took place after a police patrol suspected a vehicle carrying two men and asked the driver to pull over. Instead of complying with security forces, the driver initiated a shootout, killing one officer.

Police stopped the vehicle but the suspects managed escaping “while shooting randomly”. They made their getaway after stealing the car of a doctor, the ministry added. Security agencies are searching for the culprits.

Investigations revealed that the terrorists’ vehicle, a Toyota Prado model, was reported stolen in Dammam on April 4 last year. Upon searching the car, police found Molotov cocktails ready for use, Turki said, adding that the culprits had swapped the license plate with one from another car.

“The incident confirms the extent of the criminal behavior and the deviant ideologies of terrorists, who have no regard for innocent lives, patients visiting the hospital or passers-by,” Turki said.

He added that the car intercepted by police belonged to wanted terrorist Mustafa Ali Abdullah Al-Madad, who was killed by police on Saturday when he opened fire on authorities in Awamiya.

The ministry previously announced the names of wanted terrorists who had targeted civilians, security men and public institutions in Qatif. The list included Mohammed Al-Ammar and Ali Al-Hamad, both Saudis