Saudi Arabia says it disrupts attack on offshore oil field

Dubai: Saudi Arabia says it has disrupted an attack on a major offshore oilfield.

A military statement published today on the state-run Saudi Press Agency said three boats "bearing red and white flags" raced toward its Marjan offshore oil field.

The military said sailors fired warning shots and captured one of the boats while two others escaped in the assault Friday. It said the captured boat "was loaded with weapons for (a) subversive purpose."

Saudi Arabia did not say who it suspected in the disrupted attack. The announcement comes after Iranian state television accused Saudi Arabia's coast guard of killing an Iranian fisherman on Friday.

In April, Saudi security forces said they thwarted an attempted attack on an oil distribution center involving an unmanned boat from Yemen loaded with explosives.