Reports: Gunman Killed Near Saudi Interior Minister’s Palace

Posted August 6th, 2011 at 6:35 am (UTC-5)
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News reports out of Saudi Arabia Saturday say security forces killed a gunman who opened fire near the interior minister's palace in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.

The reports said the incident took place early Saturday morning. No other casualties were reported.

It is not clear if the shooting was linked to a militant organization.

Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, believed to be in his late 70s, led the kingdom's crackdown on al-Qaida between 2003 and 2006 in response to a wave of attacks by the militant group.

Two years ago, his son – the nation's deputy interior minister – survived a suicide bomb attack claimed by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which merged branches of the terrorist network in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.