Unidentified gunmen killed two Saudi policemen in the mainly Shia eastern city of Dammam late on Saturday, the interior ministry said, describing it as a “terrorist attack”.
The two officers were patrolling in a police car when they came under fire at around 11:30 pm (2030 GMT), a ministry spokesman told the official Saudi Press Agency.
They were both pronounced dead on arrival in hospital.
The spokesman did not specify who it held responsible for the shooting but there have been previous attacks on police in mainly Shia areas of the oil-rich east of the kingdom this year.
In January four police were killed in attacks.
The Shia minority in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia has long complained of discrimination and there has been sporadic unrest since the suppression of a Shia-led uprising in neighbouring Bahrain sparked a wave of protests in 2011.The bodies of the two policemen were transported to Dammam Central Hospital and an investigation was launched into the incident, the official news agency said.
Al Qobi’s brother expressed resilience and said that he was confident the terrorists who committed the crime would be arrested.
“We thank God for His decisions, and we are proud that our brother died on the field of honour as he was defending the nation and sacrificing his life for its security,” Ali Al Qobi said, quoted by Saudi daily Okaz on Sunday.
“My brother is married and he leaves behind four children. We last saw him on Eid Al Adha on Monday. His destiny was to become a martyr on Saturday evening.”
