3 Filipinos confirmed dead in Saudi Arabia

The Philippine government confirmed Sunday that three Filipinos were killed and three others injured when alleged al-Qaeda militants stormed four compounds of foreign workers in the Saudi city of al-Khobar on Saturday.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Julie Heidenmann said the DFA will have to inform the victims' relatives before giving details to the public.

Saudi Arabia's security forces have reportedly arrested the leader of the gunmen and some 50 people held hostage at the Oasis complex have been rescued.

Heidenmann said the two Filipinos among the hostages communicated with the Philippine embassy in Riyadh until 3:00 a.m.(1900 GMT Saturday) before their cellular phones lost power.

She also said there is no plan to issue a strict advisory against travel to Saudi Arabia, nor any plan for the repatriation of Filipinos there.

She said Filipinos in the Middle East, however, have been advised to be extra cautious. More than a million Filipinos are working in the Middle East, mostly in Saudi Arabia.

Source: Xinhua