A policeman was shot dead by masked gunmen in the Qatif district in Saudi Arabia's oil-producing Eastern Province on Wednesday, state news agency SPA said, the latest in a string of attacks there this year.
Four assailants opened fire on a police station before dawn, SPA reported.
Qatif, which is both a city and the name of a district, is home to many Shias.
Qatif was one of three Saudi cities targeted in coordinated bomb attacks on July 4. A suicide bomber struck near a Shia mosque killing himself and two others.
The Saudi government said Islamic State was likely behind the attacks.
There have also been shootings of security forces by Shia militants.
The oil-rich area was hit by anti-government protests early this year after the authorities executed prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr on terrorism-related charges.
