Saudi Arabia: Explosions on US Compound

posted by ewing2001 on Monday May 12, @01:55PM

4 blasts rock Saudi Arabia; casualties reported

USA Today

Updated 5/12/2003 9:16 PM

Updated 5/13/2003 8:00 PM EST

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) —

Hours before a visit by the American secretary of state, attackers shot their way into three compounds housing Westerners and Saudis and set off car bombs, officials said. At least 50 people were injured, a hospital official said.

The string of attacks occurred in quick succession, capped by a fourth explosion early Tuesday outside the headquarters of a joint U.S.-Saudi owned company in Riyadh.

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L12298207.htm

RIYADH, May 13 (Reuters) -

"...An unspecified number of Westerners and Saudis were killed in at least three explosions that ripped through compounds housing foreigners in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, a Saudi hospital official said on Tuesday..."

...In Monday night's attacks, gunmen in three cars shot their way into the three residential compounds before setting off explosives in the vehicles, a Saudi official said on condition of anonymity...

"...The fourth blast went off at the headquarters of the Saudi Maintenance Company, also known as Siyanco, early Tuesday morning. The company is a joint-owned venture between Frank E. Basil, Inc., of Washington, and local Saudi partners, the officials reported..."

Biographies of directors:

http://www.safenetinvestor.com/company_information/board.html

Thos. A. Brooks (excerpt): Mr. Brooks served 32 years as a U.S. Navy Intelligence officer, retiring from active military service as a Rear Admiral and Director of Naval Intelligence in 1991. In 1995, President Clinton appointed Mr. Brooks as one of three members of the Security Policy Advisory Board where he served through the end of the Clinton Administration. From 1995 to 1997, Mr. Brooks was a member of the Defense Policy Board. He also served on advisory boards for the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Office of Naval Intelligence. From 1999 to 2000, he was a member of the Federal Government Joint Security Commission.

Warning Signs

NY Times

A New York Times dispatch from May 9 includes this passage:

"...The [police raid on a home in Riyadh] came several days after the State Department, on May 1, issued an extraordinarily specific warning about possible terrorist attacks in the kingdom, saying the United States had received intelligence reports indicating that militants "may be in the final phases of planning attacks" on American interests in Saudi Arabia..."

Al-Qaida Operative Warned of Attacks

DOHA, Qatar -

"...An al-Qaida commander warned that the terror network was about to carry out major attacks in Saudi Arabia in an e-mail just a day before the deadly assault in the Saudi capital, an Arab magazine reported.

The al-Qaida operative, who identified himself as Abu Mohammed al-Ablaj, wrote in an e-mail Sunday to the London-based Al-Majalla magazine that al-Qaida has stored arms and explosives and set up "martyrdom" squads in Saudi Arabia to launch what he described as a "guerrilla war" on its leaders and the United States.

A U.S. counterterrorism official in Washington said the e-mail is regarded as credible and implies al-Qaida responsibility for Monday night's attacks.

Al-Ablaj is believed to be a known al-Qaida operative named Abu Bakr, the official said. In correspondence with the Saudi-owned Al-Majalla, al-Ablaj has said he leads the training of al-Qaida fighters..."

Yahoo News/AP

Al-Qaida Team Linked to Saudi Attacks

"...Saudi authorities linked a 19-member al-Qaida team Tuesday to carnage at three foreign compounds in the capital — multiple, simultaneous car bombings that killed at least 29 people, including seven Americans. Nine attackers were among the dead...

... The 19 escaped. Among them were 17 Saudis, a Yemeni, and an Iraqi with Kuwaiti and Canadian citizenship. The interior minister, Prince Nayef, said they were believed to take orders directly from Osama bin Laden..."

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