The Government said last night that it was "liaising continually" with the authorities in Saudi Arabia after the terrorist group al-Qaeda appeared to claim responsibility for the death of Mr Anthony Higgins (59), from Galway, earlier this month.
Militants linked to Osama bin Laden's network have claimed responsibility for killing the Irish engineer earlier this month, according to a statement posted on the Internet over the weekend.
The statement, which appeared on the Voice of Jihad Internet periodical of the al-Qaeda network in Saudi Arabia, said:
"One of the mujahedeen [holy fighters] brigades killed an Irish engineer at his workplace in Riyadh."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said: "We are aware of the released statement and are liaising continually with the Saudi authorities.
"We are confident that the investigation will be thorough and rapid. We will continue to monitor the situation as it progresses".
Armed men killed Mr on August 3rd after storming into his Riyadh office firing machineguns.
"This incident puts an end to the undeclared end to attacks that have caused panic since last spring among foreign residents in the oil-rich kingdom," said the statement, the authenticity of which could not immediately be verified.
It was the second killing of an Irish man in the Saudi capital in two months.
Simon Cumbers (36), a BBC cameraman, from Navan, Co Meath, was shot and killed while filming in Riyadh on June 6th.
Westerners have been the targets of shootings, suicide bombings and kidnappings in the kingdom in recent months in attacks that are seen as an attempt to undermine the economy, which depends heavily on expatriate labour.