State Security Spokesperson Says Cell Was Preparing
To Carry Out Terrorist Activities Against The Country.
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SAUDI ARABIA, May 12 - Eight members of
what Saudi authorities call a terrorist cell were killed on Saturday in a
police raid in Saudi Arabia's eastern Qatif region, a Shiaminority stronghold,
state media has reported.
The recently-formed cell was preparing to
carry out "terrorist activities" against the security of the country,
the official Saudi Press Agency reported, citing a state security spokesperson.
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The spokesperson said the men were killed
after they fired shots at security forces, who had surrounded a residential
apartment in the Sanabis neighbourhood.
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"They were called on to surrender, but
they did not respond and opened fire at the security forces...which resulted in
their killing," said the spokesperson.
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No civilians or security forces were
injured in the operation, he added.
Earlier this year, the Saudi authorities
announced they had killed several people after an exchange of fire in Qatif.
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According to local media, Saudi security
forces besieged the town of Umm al-Hamam in Qatif for more than 15 hours,
during which they raided several houses in search of wanted suspects. The Saudi
authorities had accused them of committing acts of terrorism in the eastern
region.
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Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province - which
includes Qatif - has seen bouts of unrest since 2011 when protesters emboldened
by the Arab Spring uprisings took to the streets.
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The demonstrators have demanded an end to
what they say is discrimination by the Sunni-dominated government, a charge
Riyadh denies.
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One of the leaders of the protest movement,
prominent Shia leader and scholar Nimr al-Nimr, was executed in 2016 after he
was convicted on terrorism charges.
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Nimr's execution exacerbated sectarian
tension both across the Gulf and with Saudi Arabia's main regional rival, Iran.
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The Shia community is estimated to make up
between 10 and 15 percent of the kingdom's population of 32 million, but the
government has released no official statistics.
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Source: Al Jazeera & New Agencies – 12
May 2019
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