Saudi police shoot dead suspected jihadist

ARLINGTON, VA – FEBRUARY 1: Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook speaks as Combined Joint Task Force Commander Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland listens via teleconference from Baghdad, Iraq during a media briefing at the Pentagon to update operations on Operation Inherent Resolve on February 1, 2016 in Arlington, Virginia. It was reported that U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. Olivier Douliery/Getty Images/AFP

RIYADH , Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi security forces on Monday shot dead a suspected jihadist in the western province of Taif a day after a policeman was killed in a shootout, the interior ministry said.

The gunman was killed after refusing to surrender to security forces hunting him over his suspected involvement in an attempt to infiltrate a police station parking area in the province on Sunday, a ministry statement said.

It identified him as Mohammed al-Maliki, adding that he had threatened in a video message to attack police and had been involved in a previous attack in which a policeman was killed.

The past week has seen a rise in such incidents in the kingdom, where the Islamic State group (IS) has previously claimed bombings and other attacks targeting security forces.

On Thursday, a police officer was shot dead after four suspected jihadists died during a raid in the area between Taif and the region of Mecca, home to Islam’s holiest sites.

IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has called Saudi Arabia’s rulers “apostate tyrants” and called on Saudis to rise up against them.

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