Policeman shot dead

RIYADH — A police officer was shot dead on Saturday in the Eastern Province city of Dammam, the Interior Ministry said. The officer was hit by gunfire from "an unknown source" as he got out of his car in a neighborhood northwest of Dammam, said a ministry spokesman quoted by the Saudi Press Agency. He was part of a unit assigned with guarding public installations. Authorities have launched an investigation into the attack, the latest in a series against security officers in the region, the spokesman added. It is the third attack of its kind in Dammam during the past two months. — SG