Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a police patrol in Qatif province, wounding one officer, a spokesman said Sunday. The shooting took place late Saturday, just two days after a man was killed during clashes with security forces in a nearby town. “During a routine patrol... the (police) were fired upon by unknown assailants... wounding one of the police officers,” the regional police spokesman said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency. “The security patrol was conducting its routine checks in Uhud Street in the direction of King Faisal Road in Qatif governorate,” the spokesman said. He said the wounded officer was transferred to a hospital but gave no further details on his condition. Witnesses said that police fired on protesters Saturday night in the provincial town of Awamiya. On Friday, security forces had clashed with miscreants in Awamiya after a police patrol was attacked with a petrol bomb. Earlier this month, the Interior Ministry said the authorities were seeking for questioning 23 people in Qatif. He accused “troublemakers” of firing on police checkpoints, blocking roads and throwing petrol bombs. Two of the 23 listed miscreants were arrested while three others surrendered to the authorities a day later.
