Briton shot dead in Riyadh

A British defence contractor was shot dead in his car in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday and police arrested the alleged assailant minutes later, Saudi state media reported, although the motive was not immediately clear.

Following is a chronology of attacks on Westerners in the kingdom over the past few years. Saudi authorities say some of the attacks were the work of militants, others were due to in-fighting among gangs involved in lucrative alcohol smuggling.

Diplomats say the more recent recent attacks were more probably linked to rising anti-Western sentiments in the conservative Muslim kingdom.