Saudi names two citizens killed in foiled terrorist plot in Dammam

Two Saudi men shot dead last week in the eastern city of Dammam were driving a car loaded with explosives and were planning an “imminent terrorist operation”, the staterun Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday.

The two were found with explosive paste in the car, Spa said. They started shooting at security forces when they were approached on Wednesday and were shot dead, the report said, quoting security officials.

Five kilograms of paste were taken from the car and found later to contain the explosive RDX, Spa said.

The men, both Saudi citizens, were identified as Ahmad Abdullah Saeed Suwaid and Abdullah Hussein Saeed Al Nimer. The identity of a third suspect, who has been arrested as part of the security response, has not been revealed as investigations continue. A machinegun, two pistols, live ammunition, and an undisclosed amount of cash were also found in the vehicle.

The Presidency of State Security said it continued to “pursue and track criminal elements who seek to undermine the security and stability”.

Saudi security forces have foiled several plots in recent years by ISIS, Al Qaeda and by cells from the country’s Shiite minority.

Yesterday, a court in Riyadh sentenced a Yemeni man, 33, to death for a knife attack on performers at a concert in the capital last month that wounded four.

The court also sentenced an accomplice to 12 years and six months in jail for the November 11 attack. The suspects confessed in court to links with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen.

The man attacked performers at a show of the Riyadh Season Festival, part of a broad government push to open up the kingdom to tourists and diversify its economy away from oil.

In April, ISIS claimed responsibility for an attempted attack on a domestic intelligence centre in the town of Al Zulfi, a small city about 250 kilometres north of Riyadh.

Security forces killed four men armed with assault weapons, explosives and Molotov cocktails. Three security officers were wounded, officials said at the time.