BBC cameraman killed and reporter injured in Saudi shooting

A BBC cameraman has been killed and the corporation's senior security correspondent is in critical condition following a drive-by shooting in the Saudi capital Riyadh yesterday.

Cameraman Simon Cumbers, 36, was killed and BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner was injured after coming under fire from gunmen while filming in the Al-Suwaydi suburb of the capital.

The Saudi security services have launched a manhunt for the gunmen; whether the killers were linked to Al Qaeda has not yet been established.

The pair had travelled to Saudi Arabia last week following terrorist attacks in Khobar and have been reporting from the country for BBC News since then.

Simon Cumbers was an experienced freelance journalist and cameraman from Ireland who had worked throughout the world filming international news stories for the BBC and for news organisations such as Associated Press Television (APTN) and ITN.

His colleague, Frank Gardner, 42, a leading expert on Al-Qaeda who works full-time reporting on the War On Terror, is said to be in a critical but stable condition after several hours of surgery at a Riyadh hospital. He is understood to have suffered wounds to the abdomen. Britain's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Sherard Cowper-Coles, visited the hospital last night.

BBC Director of News Richard Sambrook said yesterday: "Our thoughts are with the families of Simon and Frank tonight. We are in touch with them and offering them all the support that we can. We are seeking more details about what happened in this incident."

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw "utterly condemned" the attack, and offered his sympathy to the families of both men.

"I extend my sympathy to the family of the cameraman who was killed and my thoughts are with Frank Gardner, his family, colleagues and friends. Frank Gardner is an outstanding reporter who always seeks to do everything he can to explain the dangerous world we live in to the BBC audience. I have nothing but admiration for journalists like Mr Gardner who know their lives are at risk as they go about their work," he said.

The Foreign Secretary said that the government would continue to do it could to support the Saudi authorities "in their fight against terrorism".

(gmcg)