Gunmen kill 3 Saudi guards along border with Iraq

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Four gunmen attacked a Saudi security patrol near the Iraqi border early Monday, killing three soldiers and wounding at least three more, the kingdom’s Interior Ministry said.

A Saudi security official told The Associated Press the gunmen had come from inside Iraq. He spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to release the information.

It was the first deadly attack along Saudi Arabia’s 745-mile (1,200-kilometer) border with Iraq since the kingdom joined the U.S.-led coalition conducting airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Syria. The IS group controls about a third of both Syria and Iraq.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack.

Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki said four “terrorists” had fired on the patrol at around 4:30 a.m. (1:30 a.m. GMT) in the Northern Borders Province. Saudi government websites said the commander of the border guard in the area, Brig. Gen. Awad al-Balawi, was among those killed.

The Interior Ministry said the guards returned fire, killing two attackers. The other two tried to flee and hide, the ministry said. When security forces approached them, one of the attackers detonated his explosives belt and blew himself up. The fourth was shot dead by security forces.