"The people and government of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia ... stress
the importance of uniting the efforts of the international community to
counter all acts of violence and terrorism."
Saudi king condemns "disgraceful" Orlando shooting (Reuters)
Saudi Arabia's King Salman condemned the deadly gun attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida and urged measures to combat terrorism, state news agency SPA quoted the monarch as saying on Tuesday.
"We
have learned with great sorrow the news of the armed terrorist attack
in Florida which caused deaths and injuries. We condemn and denounce
this criminal and disgraceful act, which is not approved by the heavenly
religions, nor by international norms and conventions," King Salman said.
"The
people and government of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia ... stress the
importance of uniting the efforts of the international community to
counter all acts of violence and terrorism."
Omar
Mateen, who killed 49 people in the gun attack, travelled to Saudi
Arabia in 2011 and 2012 to perform the umrah pilgrimage to the holy
Muslim city of Mecca, Interior Ministry security spokesman Major General
Mansour Turki said on Monday.
Presumptive
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton singled out the kingdom
and other U.S.-allied Gulf Arab monarchies, alleging some of their
nationals aided militants.
"For starters, it
is long past time for the Saudis, the Qataris, and the Kuwaitis and
others to stop their citizens from funding extremist organisations," she told supporters in a speech in Cleveland, Ohio on Monday.
Saudi
Arabia says it is aggressively working to combat militancy and cites
two deadly Islamic State suicide bombings on Shi'ite Muslim mosques in
the kingdom over the summer as a sign that it, too, is a target.
Official
media in the Gulf has shied away from describing the scene of the
attack as a gay club and homosexual acts are punishable with the death
penalty in conservative Saudi Arabia.
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