Six killed and one arrested in Saudi Arabia's al-Qatif region

Violence in area has become rarer since security forces largely flushed out gunmen in 2017 campaign

DUBAI: Six people were killed and one arrested in a security operation in Saudi Arabia’s eastern Al-Qatif region on Monday, the state news agency reported on Wednesday.

Violence in the area has become rarer since security forces largely flushed out gunmen in a 2017 campaign that left much of the town’s old quarter flattened.



Qatif, in an oil-producing province and home to a large Shia Muslim population, is a flashpoint between the Sunni-dominated government and Shia Muslim minority complaining of discrimination and marginalisation. Saudi authorities deny those charges.

Protests and deadly militant attacks on security forces have escalated since Nimr al-Nimr, a Shia Muslim cleric critical of Saudi Arabia’s ruling family, was executed two years ago on charges of inciting violence.