Tensions have likely spiked in recent weeks after Saudi Arabia beheaded 37 men, most of them Shiites, in a mass execution on April 23.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia’s security forces killed eight alleged terrorists in a shootout in the predominantly Shiite eastern region of Qatif, a government statement issued late Saturday said.
The Interior Ministry said security forces launched a raid against a suspected militant hideout on the island of Tarot off the coast of the kingdom’s Eastern Province, a restive region on the Persian Gulf where most of the country’s oil reserves are located.
The statement described the group as a «terrorist cell» and accused them of planning to attack vital installations and security targets.
