Firing outside US consulate in Jeddah, Nepali guard and gunman killed, Consulate locked

Washington: A security guard and a gunman were killed in a shooting in front of the US consulate in Saudi Arabia’s coastal city of Jeddah on Wednesday. The officers provided this information. The US State Department said no Americans were harmed in the shooting outside the consulate. “At 6:45 pm (1545 GMT), a man stopped in a car in front of the consulate building and got out with a weapon in his hand,” a police spokesman was quoted as saying by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The security forces reacted… resulting in a shootout in which the assailant was killed. A Nepali security officer was injured in the firing and later died. “We extend our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased local guard,” the US State Department said in a statement in Washington. The State Department said Saudi forces killed the attacker and the United States is in contact with Riyadh as it launches an investigation.

“The consulate was properly closed and no Americans were harmed in the attack,” the statement said. The attack came as Saudi Arabia welcomed some 1.8 million Muslim followers for the annual hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, about 70 kilometers (44 miles) from Jeddah. The US consulate in the Red Sea city of Jeddah has been the target of terrorist attacks in the past, when a suicide bomber blew himself up on July 4, 2016, on the occasion of US Independence Day.

In December 2004, five people were killed in another attack. Jeddah has been the center of US diplomatic activity recently, as the United States and Saudi Arabia try to mediate between warring generals in Sudan. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Jeddah in early June when he met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Antony Blinken congratulated Bakrid in a tweet. He wrote, ‘Wishing all Muslims a very happy Eid al-Adha filled with celebration, community and service to others. We also extend our best wishes to the people participating in the Haj pilgrimage. Eid Mubarak and Haj Mabroor!

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Tags: Saudi Arab, Shooting, USA