Four - no make that 3 French nationals shot in Saudi

Update from a 7:01am February 27, 2007 report: Fourth Frenchman dies after Saudi attack.

Update from an 11:58am al-Reuters report: Three French nationals shot dead.

Guess who?

From al-Reuters

Four French nationals, some of them Muslims, were shot dead in Saudi Arabia on Monday in what appeared to be a militant attack, state television said.

It said a group of eight French nationals came under fire near the town of Tabuk in the northwest of the vast desert country as they were heading to the holy city of Mecca for a pilgrimage.

Two of the group died at the scene and two others died later in hospital, the report said. The group include four women and a child but it was not clear if they were among the dead.

Saudi Interior Ministry spokesmen were not available for comment.

Militants swearing allegiance to al Qaeda launched a violent campaign to topple the U.S.-allied Saudi monarchy in 2003, with suicide bomb attacks on foreigners and government installations including the oil industry.

There had been no major attacks targeting foreigners since 2004, when the campaign was at its height.