Two men killed after attacking Saudi checkpoint with bombs

The men threw bombs at a checkpoint in Eastern Province as they tried to escape kingdom

The checkpoint was in Abu Hadariya, in Saudi's Eastern Province.

Saudi Arabia’s security forces killed two men and arrested two others trying to flee the kingdom by bombing a checkpoint.

The four men, three of whom had been wanted, threw bombs at security officers in Abu Hadariya, in Eastern Province, Al Arabiya reported.

Two troops were injured in the incident, which the broadcaster said took place away from built-up areas.

Abu Hadariya is along a highway connecting Kuwait to Bahrain but it is not clear in which direction the men were travelling.

Three of the men were among the most wanted people from Al Qatif, a town in Eastern Province, the report said, quoting lists released by Saudi Arabia.

The oil-producing province has been a flashpoint for tension with the country's Shiite minority.

In January, Saudi security forces killed six suspected of planning "terrorist attacks" and seized a haul of weapons.

Five security officers were wounded in the operation in which they foiled a planned attack on a development in the Eastern Province.

Security forces seized several machineguns, three grenades and dozens of bullets, gun magazines and mobile phones.

Security services said they foiled another attack in 2017, when they intercepted a stolen Toyota Corolla in a busy district of Saihat City, leading to a brief firefight.

Shiite militants have repeatedly launched attacks on Saudi security services, but violence has been less common since operations in 2017 flushed out of many of the gunmen.