Saudi Military Trainees To Be Expelled From US After Florida Shooting

More than a dozen Saudi servicemen who are training at US military bases will be expelled from the United States in the aftermath of a Pentagon review prompted by the deadly December 6 shooting by a Saudi Air Force officer at an American naval base in Florida, CNN reported on Saturday.

The Saudi personnel being expelled are not accused of aiding the Saudi Air Force second lieutenant who killed three American sailors at the Pensacola installation, CNN reported, quoting unnamed sources.

The Pentagon, the Justice Department, the FBI and the Saudi Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Pentagon announced on December 10 it was halting operational training of all Saudi Arabian military personnel in the United States after the incident. The Pentagon then announced on December 19 that it found no threat in its review of about 850 military students from Saudi Arabia studying in the United States.

The FBI has said US investigators believe Saudi Air Force Second Lieutenant Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, 21, acted alone in the incident before he was fatally shot by a deputy sheriff.