The head of the municipality in Al-Qariyat was taken to hospital Tuesday morning after being attacked by seven persons outside his office. Witnesses to the incident said a “Saudi and his sons” approached the official, Fayez Al-Suhaili, as he arrived at work and without warning jumped on him and started raining down blows. Al-Suhaili suffered extensive bruising as a result of the attack. The governor of Al-Qariyat in the Al-Jouf province described the incident as “not just an attack on Mr. Al-Suhaili, but an attack on the whole municipal department”, and expressed his astonishment at the incident for which he had “no explanation”. “Police have managed to detain one of the aggressors, and are in pursuit of the rest,” he added. The spokesman for Al-Jouf Police said that one of the assailants was armed with a stick, and that the gang fled when municipality staff appeared. The detained man, he said, was 50 years of age. Al-Shuhaili submitted an application for retirement last week after 23 years of service.
