Saudi Arabia: Shooting incident takes place outside US Consulate in Jeddah; 2 dead

Riyadh: Two persons were killed in the shooting outside the US consulate in Jeddah, a port city in Saudi Arabia: a Nepalese security guard and the shooter who opened fire first. The officials from the US and Saudi Arabia confirmed the occurrence on Wednesday evening as the attack's investigations continued.

"On Wednesday evening at 6:45 pm, a person in a car stopped near the American Consulate building in Jeddah and got out carrying a firearm in his hand. Security authorities took the initiative to deal with him as required by the situation," the Makkah Police said in a statement, as per the Saudi Gazette.

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The State Department said that Saudi forces killed the assailant and that the United States was in touch with the kingdom. A member of the private security for the consulate, the security guard was killed, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), a state news source.

The US embassy in the Red Sea port city, which has a population of more than 4.7 million, has previously been the subject of violence, including in 2016.

In recent months, Jeddah has become the center of US diplomatic action as the US and Saudi Arabia work together to mediate between rival generals in Sudan. 

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• Firing outside US consulate in Jeddah
• Saudi Arabia