Blast kills senior cop in Saudi town

Riyadh : A homemade explosive device has killed a senior Saudi police officer in a town where deadly violence has flared in recent weeks, the interior ministry said on Monday.

Major Tariq al-Alaqi was killed and two other policemen were wounded in the blast late Sunday in Awamiya, the ministry said in a statement.

They were patrolling the town's Almosara neighbourhood, where unrest has escalated in recent weeks around a redevelopment project in the old district.

Alaqi is at least the fourth person to have been killed in the violence.

The interior ministry has said criminals involved in the drug and arms trade were implicated in the unrest.

Last month, gunmen killed two civilians and a rocket-propelled grenade left a policeman dead in the area.