A Gunman shot Saudi Diplomat in Bangladesh

An unidentified gunman shot dead an official of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Bangladesh early on Tuesday, police said, the first such killing of a diplomat in the country.

The body of Khalaf Al Ali, a second secretary, was found near the embassy in Dhaka’s diplomatic quarter.

“We are investigating the incident and trying to get details including motive of the killing and identity of the killer,”, according to Reuters, police officer Kamrul Hasan said.

Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh have close ties, with a large of people from Bangladesh employed in the oil-rich kingdom. In recent years, the embassy has tightened visa rules to stop the influx of people with forged documents.

Last October there were fresh strains after Saudi authorities executed eight Bangladeshi workers in public for their alleged involvement in an armed robbery in which an Egyptian security guard was killed.

Dhaka criticized the beheadings as did the United Nations.