Mourners attend the funeral of eight people killed by gunmen in the town of Al Dalwa in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia on Wednesday transferred the deputy governor of the kingdom’s Eastern Province, in the aftermath of an unprecedented attack against minority Shiites in the region.

A royal decree “decided to relieve Emir Jalwi bin Abdulaziz bin Musaid al-Saud” from his post and transfer him to Najran region bordering Yemen, the Saudi Press Agency reported without further explanation.

Seven Shi’a worshipers, including children, were gunned down in the eastern town of Al-Dalwa last week during the commemoration of Ashura, one of the Shi’a faith’s holiest occasions.

Political and religious leaders in the Sunni-dominated kingdom condemned the incident, which the cabinet said “threatened security and stability of citizens by terrorists.”

Two members of the security forces have been killed in a gun battle with suspects and more than 30 people detained in a dragnet since the Nov. 3 attack, according to local media.

Extremists have attacked Westerners and government targets in the kingdom between 2003 and 2006, but it was the first major militant strike against Shi’a in Saudi Arabia.

Following the killings, a royal decree dismissed Culture and Information Minister Abdulaziz Khoja.

The reasons for his firing remain unclear, but it followed calls for action against hate speech in the media.