Pensacola attack: US grounds Saudi aviation students after navy base shooting

2019-12-11 16:43:49

The US has grounded hundreds of Saudi military aviation students at bases across the country in the wake of Friday's deadly shooting in Florida. All flying will be paused, though classroom studies will continue. It comes after Defence Secretary Mark Esper ordered a review following the shooting of three sailors at a navy base by a Saudi Air Force lieutenant. The FBI said it was trying to determine the motive of the attacker, who was shot dead by police. Investigators say they are working on the assumption that it was an act of terrorism. The shooting at Pensacola has placed the long-standing US-Saudi relationship under scrutiny. Ties have already been strained by the Saudi military offensive in Yemen and the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi last year.