RIYADH, Feb 26 (Reuters) Four French nationals, some of them Muslims, were shot dead in Saudi Arabia today in what appeared to be a militant attack, state television said.

It said a group of eight French nationals came under fire near the town of Tabuk in the northwest of the vast desert country as they were heading to the holy city of Mecca for a pilgrimage.

Two of the group died at the scene and two others died later in hospital, the report said. The group include four women and a child but it was not clear if they were among the dead.

Saudi Interior Ministry spokesmen were not available for comment.

Militants swearing allegiance to al Qaeda launched a violent campaign to topple the US-allied Saudi monarchy in 2003, with suicide bomb attacks on foreigners and government installations including the oil industry.

There had been no major attacks targeting foreigners since 2004, when the campaign was at its height.

Gunmen killed Simon Cumbers, an Irish cameraman working for the BBC, and seriously wounded BBC correspondent Frank Gardner in June 2004 as they filmed in the capital Riyadh.

The last major attack was an attempt to storm an oil facility at Abqaiq in the east of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter.

Reuters SAM DB2359