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27/02/03 . n/a . Al-Watan . Saudi Arabia  
 
Saudi authorities arrest suspect who threw firebomb at McDonald'srestaurant  
 
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi authorities have arrested a man who threw a Molotov cocktail at a McDonald's restaurant in eastern Saudi Arabia, the daily Al-Watan reported Thursday.  

The man, who was not identified, was arrested Tuesday evening, two hours after he threw a plastic bottle filled with a flammable liquid at the restaurant in the city of Dammam, the paper quoted the city's police chief Brig. Abdul Aziz al-Ba'adi as saying.

Prince Mishaal bin Khaled was quoted as saying that the man threw the bottle, which was not lit, into the restaurant and fled.

There were no injuries or damages.

Police have launched an investigation into the attack.

In November, a Saudi man threatened a worker at a McDonald's restaurant in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, with a pistol, before setting the restaurant on fire.

He was arrested in January, and Saudi authorities have said he would face trial, although they did not disclose what he was being charged with.

On Feb. 20, a British man was shot and killed in Riyadh in what the U.S. Embassy said was a terrorist act. A Saudi citizen was arrested in connection with the attack.

Anti-American sentiment has been running high in Saudi Arabia because of U.S. President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s standoff with neighboring Iraq and the perceived U.S. support for Israel against the Palestinians.

Residents of the wealthy kingdom, however, embrace fast food restaurants, malls and other trappings of Western consumer culture that often seem at odds with their conservative Muslim traditions.  
 
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