Bomb attacks rock Saudi capital

[sassa]

Bomb attacks rock Saudi capital

At least 80 casualties reported at complex housing Westerners

May 12 — U.S. officials said it was too early to say who was responsible for the attacks, but al-Qaida was an early suspect. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.

NBC, MSNBC AND NEWS SERVICES

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, May 13 — Less than a week after al-Qaida warned of an imminent strike, U.S. and Saudi officials said Tuesday morning that at least 80 people and perhaps many more were injured in four bomb attacks against Western interests in the Saudi capital, one of them a massive blast at a residential complex housing Americans and other Westerners.

DIPLOMATIC AND MILITARY sources told NBC News that three explosions occurred simultaneously about 11:30 p.m. Monday (4:30 p.m. ET) at gated compounds in a residential complex in an eastern suburb of Riyadh.

Explosives-packed cars crashed into each of the three compounds and exploded, U.S. and Saudi officials said. Shortly beforehand, gunfire was heard as the attackers shot their way into the compounds, witnesses and Saudi officials said.

A reporter for the Middle East Broadcasting Co. told NBC News that at least some people were killed in the attack, while Reuters quoted a hospital official as saying he had secondhand reports of an unspecified number of deaths.

Those reports could not immediately be confirmed, but Britain’s Sky News quoted a witness as saying, “There were bodies everywhere and blood everywhere.â€

Secretary of State Colin Powell was in Jordan on Tuesday and was scheduled to arrive in Saudi Arabia about noon Tuesday for meetings with Crown Prince Abdullah. Officials traveling with Powell said the secretary would go ahead with his plans.

SCORES REPORTED INJURED

The injured were taken to at least 10 hospitals. An official at National Guard Hospital told news agencies that its emergency room was treating 50 people and was expecting many more. Officials at Abdulaziz Medical City told NBC News that they were expecting at least 30 patients.

Sky News broadcast an interview with a man identified only as John, who said he had been slightly injured in the attack.

“All the doors in my apartment, all the windows, the external door, all the internal doors were blown in, and at that point I was blown onto my back,†he said. “We were only 70 yards from the bomb blast, but the people right next to it, their houses have been completely smashed to pieces.â€

A fourth explosion was reported early Tuesday morning at a facility of a Saudi-owned company in Riyadh that has extensive dealings with U.S. interests, security officials told The Associated Press.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties at Saudi Maintenance Corp., also known as Siyanco, which has formed high-profile joint partnerships with Frank E. Basil Inc., a Washington-based engineering consulting firm.

COMPLEX HOUSES WESTERNERS

About half of the residents of the residential complex, which is known as Garnata, are Western corporate executives and other professionals, a Saudi official said. They are mostly British, Italian and French, but some are Americans, including U.S. government workers and their families.

Authorities believe the attack was in retaliation for recent arrests of suspected members of al-Qaida, the terrorist network led by Saudi native Osama bin Laden, the official said.

The State Department issued a warning earlier this month advising Americans to avoid travel to Saudi Arabia because of increased terrorism concerns.

U.S. fears more Saudi attacks

On May 6, Saudi security forces seized a large cache of weapons and explosives in Riyadh as they were searching for a number of suspected terrorists, an unidentified Saudi official said.

The official, quoted by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, said at least 19 men — 17 Saudis, a Yemeni and an Iraqi holding both Kuwaiti and Canadian citizenship — were being sought in connection with the plots.

Only a week ago, a new spokesman for al-Qaida, which is blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, warned of an attack against U.S. interests in a series of e-mail exchanges with the London-based Arabic-language magazine al-Majalla.

There were reports of an unspecified number of deaths, which could not immediately be confirmed.

The spokesman, Thabet bin Qais, was quoted as claiming that al-Qaida had taken a “new form†after its leadership was ousted from its former home in Afghanistan by U.S. military forces.

“The Americans only have predictions and old intelligence left,†al-Majalla quoted bin Qais as saying. “It will take them a long time to understand the new form of al-Qaida.â€

The magazine quoted bin Qais as warning of plots “the size of the Sept. 11 attacks†and promising that “a strike against America is definitely coming.â€

A senior U.S. official told NBC News that bin Qais was believed to be a credible spokesman for al-Qaida. “He is legitimate,†the source said. “We have to take him seriously.â€

U.S. officials told NBC News that there had recently been a high level of intelligence “chatter†— intercepted radio and telephone conversations between suspected terrorists — but no clear indication where or when they might attack.

[bigpoppanils]

i saw a news conference with Powell this morning about it

he said: "we will work with our Saudi freinds on this matter"

i'm sorry, but wasnt Saudi Arabia the fundraising center for Al Qaeda?

this whole US-friendliness towards the Saudis is pissing me off

[cintron]

like i've said before, the Saudi government walks a tightrope between mainitaining good relations with us, and heeding their citizens - many of whom resent our presence and influence in the kingdom's affairs.

Naturally, our presence would precipitate a violent reaction, and to this end Osama came to be, along with many others like him.

I don't think the Saudi government bears us any ill will... but i can't say the same for many of the saudi citizens...

and certainly when an incident like this happens, their government can't exactly condemn the action and pursue the criminals outright, because it could be seen as "siding with the enemy", creating more problems.

that whole region is one big fucking mess. We should never have gotten involved and just let t hem all kill each other.