‘Nine die’ in Saudi gun battles

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BBC Online :
At least nine people have died in two separate gun battles in Saudi Arabia.
In the first incident on Monday, masked gunmen killed at least five people in the town of Dalwah, a Shia Muslim area in eastern Saudi Arabia.
On Tuesday in a shootout believed to be linked to that attack, two suspected militants and two Saudi policemen were killed in Buraida, north of Riyadh.
Shias, who make up less than 15% of the Sunni-majority nation, are currently marking the festival of Ashura. It commemorates the death of a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
Monday’s attack was in Dalwah in Ahsa district, one of the centres for Shia Muslims.
Shias mark Ashura in Qatif, 400km east of Riyadh, 4 Nov Shias mark Ashura in Qatif, 400km east of Riyadh
At least three attackers fired machineguns and pistols at a crowd that was leaving a building where ceremonies had been taking place, police said.
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