Saudis Urge Militants to Accept Amnesty
Saudi Arabia’s police minister said foreign residents can carry weapons, easing restrictions in the face of a wave of militant bombings, attacks and kidnappings targeting Western workers. Some foreign companies and embassies have asked Saudi authorities to ease rules barring private security guards from carrying weapons, a Western diplomat said. “In principle, a citizen has the right to carry a licensed weapon, and so does the resident, if he senses danger he can carry a personal weapon as he does in his country,” Police Minister Prince Nayef said at a press conference Wednesday night. Al-Qaida-linked militants in Saudi Arabia have hiked up their campaign of attacks, targeting foreign workers with a bloody assault on a Riyadh housing compound in May that killed 22 people, a series of shootings and the kidnapping-beheading of an American hostage. Full Story