Riyadh: Saudi Arabia on Saturday revealed the identity of a man it accuses of killing a soldier last week, saying he confessed to being a follower of the Daesh terror group.
An interior ministry spokesman said the assailant was captured three days after shooting dead soldier Abdullah Al Rashidi on Sunday in the northwestern city of Tabuk.
“The culprit confessed to adopting the doctrine of terrorist (group) Daesh,” the spokesman said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency.
The man, identified as Hayel Al Atawi, said he “committed the crime in response to a call by the [Daesh] organisation to target military personnel,” the statement added.
Seven others were arrested in relation to the killing, it said.
Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi has called for attacks against Saudi Arabia, which belongs to a US-led coalition battling the terrorists in Syria and Iraq.
Since late 2014 Daesh has claimed a series of bombings and shootings targeting Shiites in the majority kingdom, as well as the security forces.
