Gunmen who killed a BBC cameraman and critically wounded a senior correspondent were linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, a Saudi diplomat said on Monday.
"It is the same fanatical group. They are linked to al Qaeda," Jamal Khashoggi, the media adviser to Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi ambassador in London, told Reuters, referring to recent attacks in the Saudi cities of Khobar and Yanbu.
The BBC identified the dead cameraman as Simon Cumbers, 36, and the wounded man as security correspondent Frank Gardner, 42. It said Gardner, who suffered wounds mainly to the abdomen, was in a stable condition after extensive surgery overnight.
Khashoggi said the two spent a long time filming in a dangerous area which is a stronghold of militants, who last year launched a campaign to bring down the US-allied Saudi royals.
"It was an easy job for these militants because they had spent some time in the area. I believe it was an opportunistic strike," Khashoggi said.
"These militants want to send a message that the kingdom is not safe for Westerners."
He said the government, which is battling al Qaeda militants but has so far avoided a large-scale crackdown, will now take tougher measures against militants.
Sunday's attack, the fourth in five weeks on Westerners in the kingdom, heightened security fears among the tens of thousands of expatriates in the world's largest oil exporter.
A week ago, al Qaeda militants killed 22 people, 19 of them foreigners, in a shooting and hostage-taking spree in the oil city of Khobar. The assault helped push oil prices to record highs before producers vowed to raise output.
Comments
Comments are closed.