Anzi, the Saudi youth brutally killed in the Syrian city of Homs Monday, was in the country legally, his father insisted Tuesday. The Kingdom has demanded an explanation from Damascus for what it called the “sinful attack” on Hussein that killed him. In a statement issued by the official SPA news agency, a Saudi embassy official in Damascus said the youth diedMonday while visiting family in Homs. Bandar Al-Khaldi, Hussein's father, said his son was buried in Homs to prevent his body being disfigured by acid attacks. “Hussein had recently received a scholarship to study engineering in Britain and was in his last year at university. He was visiting his uncles in Syria,” the father said. “My son was traveling to Damascus International Airport when he was stopped at a checkpoint and killed there,” he said. “His relatives told me that the officers at the checkpoint asked Hussein to show them his passport and then they started using improper words before killing him brutally,” the father recounted. Bandar also spoke about the grisly nature of the killing that has shocked the country. “Hussein was shot several times from close range,” he said. “Both his uncles were killed as well. My son showed them all his IDs and traveling papers; nevertheless, they killed him.” The Saudi embassy has demanded Syrian authorities investigate the “sinful attack” and that the perpetrators be brought to justice. It also called on Saudi citizens in Syria to “keep away” from trouble spots in the country, where security forces have been waging a brutal eight-month crackdown on anti
