RIYADH; Saudi border guards have been given orders to shoot infiltrators on sight after three troopers were killed on the Iraqi frontier earlier this month, a spokesman said on Monday.

The orders apply to guards patrolling the southern border with Yemen as well as the northern frontier with Iraq, Major General Mohammed al-Ghamdi said.

Senior commander General Odah al-Balawi was among the three border guards killed in the Jan 5 clash with four Saudi infiltrators, two of whom blew themselves up. “After that, we will not negotiate with anyone,” Ghamdi said.

“We will shoot them directly without any warning, without any negotiation.” He said security officers on the Iraqi side had been told of the new orders.

No group has claimed responsibility for the border clash but Saudi Arabia is among Arab countries taking part in US-led air strikes against the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria, raising concerns about possible retaliation inside the kingdom.

Published in Dawn January 20th , 2015

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