Explosions in Riyadh, 5 people were killed, 80 injured

posted by ewing2001 on Saturday November 08, @09:50AM

Conflicting Numbers, ABC still mentions 20-30 killed

Explosion Rocks Saudi Capital; Smoke Seen

Update: US closes down another embassy in Sudan (BBC 11/10)

AP/Guardian -Saturday November 8, 2003 9:46 PM

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - An explosion rocked the Saudi capital Riyadh just before midnight Saturday, and smoke could be seen rising from the area of the blast, a U.S. official said.

Updates:

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AP

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Three explosions rocked the Saudi capital Riyadh around midnight Saturday, and smoke could be seen rising from the area of the blast, diplomats said.

The diplomats said there was one big explosion at about midnight, followed by two smaller ones 15 seconds apart. Police cars raced toward the direction of the blasts, which appeared to have happened in the western part of the city.

An American Embassy spokeswoman confirmed the explosion, but said it was not in the diplomatic quarter. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, and it wasn't known if there were any casualties.

Updates also at DU and Agonist.org

AP -5:18 PM

The diplomats reported one big explosion at about midnight, followed by two smaller ones 15 seconds apart in the western part of the city. The streets were crowded with late night crowds because of Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims fast during the day.

A U.S. embassy spokesperson said the attack targeted the B2 compound, which is in the Nakheel neighborhood near the Muhaya shopping center. It's a residential area, with mainly Saudis and other Arabs with a few foreigners.

The official said all U.S. embassy personnel are accounted for. There is no information on casualties, including whether private Americans are involved.

Police cars and ambulances raced toward the direction of the blasts, sirens wailing. Traffic was tied up across the city.

Three Explosions Rock Western Riyadh, Conflicting Reports on Dead and Wounded

AP -7:56 PM

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Three explosions rocked a residential compound in the Saudi capital Saturday night, and a government official said the attack came after gunmen broke into the compound and exchanged fire with security guards.

There were conflicting reports about the number of dead and wounded from the midnight blasts at a residential compound in western Riyadh. The official Saudi Press Agency described the attack as "terrorist."

The manager of the targeted compound estimated that 100 people were wounded, and a resident said 20 to 30 people were killed, the Al-Arabiya television channel said. Ma'aed al-Yamie, a doctor at Riyadh Central Hospital, told The Associated Press that a Sudanese man killed in the blast and 10 wounded were brought to his hospital.

...The Saudi official said the explosions took place in the Muhaya compound. He said the attackers exchanged fire with the guards and he said there were apparently three explosions.

He said most of the wounded were believed to be children because their parents were out shopping during Ramadan. Most of the residents are Arabs and few Westerners live in the area.

State Department spokeswoman Amanda Batt in Washington said initial reports indicated there were explosions and gunfire in Riyadh. She referred to explosions at three compounds that housed Westerners but acknowledged the compounds could have been all in the same complex.

The Saudi-owned, Dubai-based MBC TV said Riyadh hospitals have been put on high alert to expect casualties from the explosion. A U.S. Embassy spokesperson said all embassy personnel were accounted for.

Hanadi al-Ghandaki, manager of the targeted compound, told al-Arabiya that about 100 people were wounded, mostly children "because most adults were outside the compound at that time." She did not elaborate.

Al-Ghandaki said the residential facility has 200 residential villas occupied by Arab tenants, plus four others occupied by one French family, two German families and a British family.

Rabie Hadeka, a resident inside the targeted compound, told the Al-Arabiya television network that "about 20 to 30 people have been killed and 50 to 60 injured."

She told Al-Arabiya that "shattered glass was spread everywhere after we heard three very strong explosions."

An Arab diplomat, who declined to be identified further, told the AP that he heard that 31 people were injured, 27 lightly and four seriously. He made no comment about deaths.

Police said the explosions were three miles from one of the entrances to the Saudi capital's diplomatic quarter.

"We heard a very strong explosion and we saw the fire," Bassem al-Hourani, who said he was a resident at the targeted compound, told Al-Arabiya in a telephone interview.

"I heard screams of the children and women. I don't know what happened to my friends if anybody was injured," he said. "All the glass in my house were shattered."

Almost all the foreign embassies in Riyadh - including the U.S. Embassy - and most diplomats' homes are inside the diplomatic quarter, an isolated neighborhood whose entrances are guarded. But there are several residential compounds housing Western business people relatively near the diplomatic quarter.

A western diplomat said he got a call from a friend who reported seeing smoke rising from a building on the other side of the diplomatic quarter near an area where the palaces of the royal family's senior princes are located.

The city's main palaces, including those of senior princes and the king's sprawling Riyadh residence, are just outside the east side of the diplomatic quarter. Each of the palaces is behind a high wall, with automatic gates for cars to drive through, and guards.

Car Bomb Attack Kills 5 in Saudi Capital

Guardian -Sunday November 9, 2003 12:16 PM

...The Saturday night blasts came after gunmen exchanged fire with security guards, a Saudi government official said. An Interior Ministry official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that two security guards - from India and Sudan - were killed. The Lebanese Embassy in Riyadh added three Lebanese - a woman, a 5-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl - were also killed.

The Interior Ministry official said 86 people were wounded, most of them children and women, in a compound of about 200 houses where most of the residents were Lebanese. Some Saudis also live there, plus a few German, French and Italian families.

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