Suicide attack near Iraq border kills 2 Saudi guards

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Two Saudi Arabian border guards were killed early Monday in a suicide attack near the Iraq border.

According to the Saudi Ministry of Interior, the attack occurred at 4:30 a.m. local time at the Suwaif Center of Judaydit Arar in the Northern Borders region.

Two armed men opened fire on the border patrol. One attacker was killed in the exchange of gun fire. A second assailant "detonated an explosives belt he was carrying, which resulted in his death and the martyrdom of two security men and injuring a third one," the ministry reported.

An investigation is underway.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred in an area near Iraq's western Anbar province, portions of which are controlled by the Islamic State.

Saudi Arabia is a member of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led effort to combat the Islamic State.