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US boots Saudi military trainees in wake of Florida shooting rampage

Saudi military students not to have been involved in the Pensacola shooting but are being expelled anyway.

Saudi military students not to have been involved in the Pensacola shooting but are being expelled anyway. Photo: Getty

More than a dozen Saudi servicemen training at US military bases will be expelled from the US in the aftermath of the deadly Dec. 6 shooting spree by a Saudi Air Force officer at an American naval base in Florida.

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 referred questions to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FBI and the Saudi Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Pentagon announced on Dec. 10 it was halting operational training of all Saudi Arabian military personnel in the United States after the incident.

The Pentagon then announced on Dec. 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 shot and killed by a deputy sheriff.

-with AAP

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