Saudi Arabia says thwarted attack on offshore oil field

By Ahmed al-Masri

DOHA

Saudi Arabia said Monday it had disrupted an attack on an offshore oil field.

A government statement carried by the official SPA news agency said three boats bearing "white and red flags" entered Saudi territorial waters on Friday and raced toward the Marjan oil field.

The statement said Saudi naval forces fired warning shots and captured one of the boats, while the two others had escaped.

It said the captured boat "was loaded with weapons for a subversive purpose."

The statement, however, did not say who was behind the attack.

On Friday, Iran accused Saudi coast guards of opening fire on Iranian fishing boats, killing a fisherman.

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran have strained since Riyadh severed diplomatic ties with Tehran early last year after its diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad came under mob attacks following the execution of a Saudi Shia cleric.