A man carrying a gun was shot dead around 1am on Saturday in Jeddah, at a checkpoint near the palace of Prince Nayef, the Saudi interior minister, according to the official Saudi news agency.

Details are still scarce, but – rightly or wrongly – some are suggesting it was an attempt to assassinate the prince. A photo showing the blood-covered body of the alleged gunman has been posted here.

BBC Arabic quotes a somewhat different account from Agence France-Presse saying that two young men opened fire on the prince's beach palace; guards shot one of them dead and the other was arrested. An unnamed government source is reported as saying the pair were "under the influence of drugs".

Two years ago, a suicide bomber linked to al-Qaeda tried to kill the minister's son, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is in charge of the kingdom's anti-terrorism programme.

Whatever the facts behind the latest incident, it's probable that the Saudi authorities will use it as an excuse for pressing ahead with implementation of their much-criticised new anti-terrorism law.

Last month a copy of the draft law was leaked to Amnesty International which described the proposal as "seriously flawed", saying it "could be used to penalise people who express peaceful views or opinions or engage in other legitimate activities".

Human Rights Watch also called for it to be withdrawn. "The draft counterterrorism law is trying to enshrine as legal the Saudi Interior Ministry’s unlawful practices," a spokesman said. "It lumps peaceful political opposition together with violent acts and ensures that the accused won’t get a fair trial."

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 6 August 2011.