Saudi- Alert in Asir after prisoner escapes 

(MENAFN - Arab News) A security alert was declared in the southern province of Asir on Saturday after a member of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) and a security guard were fired upon by a prisoner they were escorting.

Ali Abdullah Al-Ahmari, a 50-year-old officer working for the commission's markets sector in Abha, and Abdullah Suleiman, a 25-year-old security guard, were shot at as they were transporting a prisoner from Abha prison to a police station in Ahhad-Rafidah.

Saeed Al-Naqir, spokesman of the health directorate in Asir, said the wounded men were taken to Ahhad-Rafidah Hospital with bullet wounds in their heads, and first aid was swiftly administered to them. However, because their condition was critical they were shifted to Asir Central Hospital.

Awad Al-Asmari, Haia spokesman in Asir, said that the commission's officer was escorting the security guard who was transporting the prisoner as a routine procedure. The commission had no direct involvement in the case.

A security spokesman said the alleged offender was with two other men when they were arrested in Jazan province and later transferred to the Abha police department. However, during the processes of transporting the prisoners to the Ahhad-Rafidah police department, and as they neared the area, one of the men shot the commission's employee and the security guard. The prisoner then forced the vehicle's driver to take him to a remote area, where he made his escape.

Al-Naqir stressed that the wounded men were still in critical condition, but efforts to save their lives were still being made.