Gunmen have shot dead a Saudi policeman in the kingdom's east where most minority Shiites live, police said today.
The drive-by attack happened early today in Qatif, a Shiite-dominated district on the Gulf coast.
Four masked men opened fire, wounding the officer who died on the way to hospital, provincial police said in a statement.
"The police building and a patrol car were damaged," said the statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
It was the fourth fatal shooting of a policeman in Qatif since January.
Eastern Province is home to most of Saudi Arabia's Shiites, who have long complained of marginalisation in the Sunni-majority kingdom.
Parts of the eastern area have seen repeated security incidents since 2011, when a wave of protests began among Shiites demanding reform.
Eastern Province residents have said clashes with police are also sometimes linked to criminal activity including the drug trade.
Sunni extremists from the Islamic State group have claimed attacks against Saudi security personnel elsewhere in the kingdom.
A Yemeni accused of running over and stabbing a policeman this month in the southwestern Asir region had pledged allegiance to the IS group, the interior ministry said.
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