Body guard of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud has been shot dead by a friend in the coastal city of Jeddah in what has been explained as ‘personal argument.’
Saudi king’s body guard shot dead in mysterious case
30 Sep 2019 - 13:41
Body guard of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud has been shot dead by a friend in the coastal city of Jeddah in what has been explained as ‘personal argument.’
Saudi police said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Sunday that Major General Abdul Aziz al-Fagham, who was frequently seen by the king’s side, died Saturday night in the western city of Jeddah.
According to the statement, trouble broke out when Fagham was visiting a friend who was receiving guests at his home in Jeddah’s al-Shatee district, several kilometers north of the palace where the king usually spends much of the summer.
The gunman was himself shot dead by security forces, but five officers were wounded in the melee, it said.
Saudi state television also announced the bodyguard’s death in a single tweet.
“Maj. Gen. Abdulaziz al-Fagham, bodyguard of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, was shot dead following a personal dispute in Jeddah,” the tweet read.
Despite the official state announcement, details surrounding the killing remain scarce, prompting suspicions.
Some foreign journalists suspected the official narrative about Fagham’s death. They also drew a resemblance between his death and the state-sponsored murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives last year.
Saudi dissidents have also challenged the official account on the death of the king's personal bodyguard.
Ali al-Ahmed, an investigative journalist, said in a posting on Twitter that, “Fagham was dismissed from his post a few days ago, and that this made his death suspicious.”
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