Saudi official says security officer killed, 2 wounded

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry says a Saudi security officer has been killed and two security men wounded when an explosive device exploded in a restive town in the country’s eastern province.

Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said in a statement Monday that a security patrol was checking the situation in a neighbourhood in the heavily Shiite-populated town of Qatif when the device exploded, killing Maj. Tareq al-Allaqi. The two injured men are in a stable condition, he said.

Violence between Shiite militants and security forces there has increased in recent weeks, with several incidents of militants firing rocket-propelled grenades at police.

The Islamic State group has previously launched attacks on Shiites in Qatif.