(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabian authorities foiled an attack on a domestic security outpost in a conservative area north of Riyadh on Sunday, killing four militants, Al Arabiya reported.
The attackers targeted a station belonging to Saudi Arabia’s mabahith security agency in the town of Al Zulfi, about 155 miles (250 kilometers) from the capital, the Saudi news channel reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The mabahith deal with domestic security and are sometimes referred to as the kingdom’s secret police. Al-Arabiya didn’t identify the attackers, saying they carried automatic weapons as well as bombs and Molotov cocktails.
The kingdom has intensified its counter-terrorism efforts after a spate of domestic assaults by Saudi militants in the early 2000s. But even as attacks have become more rare in the past few years, recent clashes include an incident that left two assailants dead this month in the east of the country.
To contact the reporter on this story: Vivian Nereim in Riyadh at vnereim@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Paul Abelsky
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