Shootout close to U.S. Consulate in Saudi Arabia leaves guard, gunman lifeless

The motive for the assault was not instantly clear, the division mentioned. The gunman has not but been recognized. The State Division, Saudi Ministry of Overseas Affairs and its embassies in London and Washington didn’t instantly reply to requests for touch upon Thursday morning.

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The incident occurred round 6:45 p.m. native time when “an individual in a automobile stopped close to the American consulate constructing in Jeddah Governorate and obtained out of it carrying a firearm in his hand,” Saudi state information company SPA reported, citing Mecca regional police. “Safety authorities took the initiative to take care of him as required by the state of affairs, and the trade of fireplace resulted in his dying.”

The guard who was killed was a domestically employed Nepalese native, SPA reported.

“We provide our honest condolences to the household and family members of the deceased native guards member,” the State Division mentioned, in line with the AP.

The USA has an embassy within the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and consulates in Jiddah and Dhahran, an japanese metropolis near Bahrain.

The USA has had a mission in Jiddah since 1942 and its sprawling compound is positioned within the port metropolis’s Al Muhammadiyah neighborhood, near the airport.

Residence to 4 million individuals, Jiddah can be the primary gateway for Muslim pilgrims touring to Mecca for the Hajj, which concluded with the Eid al-Adha vacation this week.

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The consulate has been focused prior to now. In July 2016, a suicide bomber carried out an assault close to the compound, killing solely himself and injuring no U.S. staff. In 2004, 5 militants stormed the consulate, killing 9.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was within the metropolis earlier this month the place he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the dominion’s de facto ruler. On the finish of his journey, Blinken mentioned he had been “heartened” by “new avenues for cooperation” with the Center Jap behemoth on points together with the economic system and the continuing conflict in Sudan.