Two police officers shot dead in eastern Saudi Arabia

Unidentified gunmen killed two Saudi policemen on Tuesday in Dammam, an eastern city with a mostly Shia population.

"[The officers came under] heavy fire from an unknown source" as they parked their vehicle in a commercial area, ta police spokesman told Saudi Press Agency.

It was not clear who carried out the shooting, but there have been numerous attacks in the Saudi Arabia's eastern province, which has seen unrest from the mostly Shia population.

Two policemen were killed in a similar attack in Dammam last month.

The Shia minority in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia has long complained of discrimination and there has been sporadic unrest since the suppression of a Shia-led uprising in neighbouring Bahrain sparked a wave of protests in 2011.

Saudi security forces have also come under attack by Sunni extremists linked to al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group.