Saudi official blames Riyadh attacks on al Qaeda

CNN ^ | 11/9/03 | CNN

[swilhelm73]

The attack came one day after the U.S. Embassy announced it would close temporarily over concerns of rising terror threats.

A senior official in the Saudi Interior Ministry said his government was certain the attack was planned and carried out by al Qaeda using the same suicide car bombing strategy employed in the May 12 attacks in Riyadh.

[Fred Mertz]

The triple bombings in May targeted apartment complexes housing Westerners. Those bombings left 23 people dead, including nine Americans. Twelve bombers were also killed.

If they keep this up, the bombers will all be dead.

[stlnative]

Check this out!

Title : At least five killed in Riyadh blast, 99 wounded: senior official
By :
Date : 09 November 2003 1157 hrs (SST)
URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/56336/1/.html

RIYADH : At least five people, four Arabs and one Indian, were killed in the bombing which rocked a residential compound west of Riyadh at midnight Saturday, a senior Saudi official told AFP at the site of the blast.

"Three Lebanese, one Sudanese and one Indian" were killed in the blast at the al-Muhaya complex, the official said early Sunday, requesting anonymity.

"So far, 99 people are known to have been wounded," he added.

Earlier, a senior security official said that an initial toll indicated that at least one woman was killed and 78 people were wounded in the bombing.

"An initial toll indicates that one Arab woman was killed and a total of 78 people were injured," the official told AFP as rescue workers continued to dig in the wreckage of villas at the stricken compound.

While Saudi authorities and residents said only one compound was bombed, the US State Department said three residential compounds housing Westerners in the Saudi capital were hit by explosions and gunfire.

"We have initial reports that there were explosions and gunfire at three compounds in Riyadh that house Westerners," State Department spokeswoman Amanda Batt told AFP.

"At the present time, we are unaware of any casualties."

The Saudi interior ministry said a "terrorist bombing" rocked the al-Muhaya compound west of Riyadh, at a time when many people would have been awake following dawn to dusk fasts for the holy month of Ramadan.

It did not immediately provide details of the attack, which followed close on the heels of US and other Western warnings of a possibly imminent terror strike in Saudi Arabia.

But a security officer at the scene told AFP Sunday said the blast was the result of a suicide car bombing.

"A car laden with explosives succeeded in penetrating the fortified compound surrounded by cement blocks," the officer said, requesting anonymity.

"The car blew up inside the compound," he added, but could not tell if one suicide bomber or more were involved.

Gunfire was heard before and after the blast, said residents of the compound.

"A terrorist bombing occurred at the al-Muhaya residential compound west of Riyadh tonight," said an interior ministry official, cited by the official SPA news agency.

"Further details will be released later," he said.

The compound, a former US Marine base, is located in the Wadi Laban suburb, behind the al-Yamama royal palace.

At least 100 people, mostly children, were wounded when the bomb exploded, the compound's manager told AFP.

Major hospitals in Riyadh were put on a state of alert.

"There are no less than 100 wounded, most of them children," al-Muhaya manager Hanadi al-Khandakli said, adding she could not immediately tell whether there were any fatalities.

Khandaqli, who was in the compound at the time of the attack, said "there was gunfire followed by a blast, and a second blast minutes later."

She said the complex comprised 200 villas, four of which are inhabited by Western families, including two German and one French.

Residents said the fourth family was British. Other inhabitants are Arabs, including Saudis.

Dozens of ambulances and vehicles carrying special forces raced to the site of the blast in Wadi Laban, some five kilometers (three miles) from the Diplomatic Quarter housing foreign embassies and diplomats' residences.

Security forces closed off the Diplomatic Quarter and patrolled the area as a helicopter hovered over the stricken site, an AFP correspondent reported.

The Omani assistant secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for military affairs, General Ali al-Maamari, lives in the complex but was not there at the time of the blast.

Gunfire was heard inside the compound more than two hours after the blast, an AFP photographer said. Arabic television showed images of buildings in the compound still on fire and wounded flooding hospitals.

The powerful blast was heard across central Riyadh and buildings shook from the explosion, residents said.

The blast came amid US and other Western warnings of possibly imminent terror attacks in Saudi Arabia.

Thirty-five people died in triple suicide bombings against residential compounds in Riyadh on May 12, prompting Saudi authorities to launch a massive crackdown on suspected Islamist extremists which netted hundreds of militants.

US missions in Saudi Arabia were closed for security reviews Saturday. The United States, Britain, Canada and Australia have all advised their citizens to defer non-essential travel to the oil-rich kingdom.

"The embassy continues to receive credible information the terrorists in Saudi Arabia have moved from the planning to operational phase of planned attacks in the kingdom," the US embassy had said in a recorded "warden" message.

In the United States, media reported that operatives of the al-Qaeda network headed by Saudi-born Osama bin Laden may be planning to hijack cargo jets in Saudi Arabia, Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean and use them to attack power plants and other critical infrastructure.

Britain on Saturday also pinpointed Bahrain and Qatar as countries where there was "a high threat from terrorism" against Western targets.

- AFP

[rs79bm]

Probably a wise assumption on his part. We have been warning them about this for days now.

[cgk]

WTH is going on with leaving their children ALONE while they go shopping?! I just don't get that.

[stlnative]

Story location: http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=797616&tw=wn_wire_story

Bombed Complex Was Near Saudi Royal Homes

Saturday, November 08, 2003 11:06 p.m. ET

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef and some other Saudi royals have private homes near the housing compound ripped apart by suspected al Qaeda suicide bombers in Riyadh Sunday, a Western diplomat said.

"This is an area which has several private residences for members of the Saudi royal family. It was about half a mile from one of the houses of Prince Nayef," the diplomat told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam, is battling a surge in Islamist violence. Supporters of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden have threatened both Saudi rulers and Western expatriates who hold key jobs in the kingdom, the world's biggest oil exporter.

The bombed Muhaya compound was about one-and-a-half miles away from the diplomatic quarter in Riyadh where the United States and Britain have their embassies.

The diplomat said the compound, housing foreigners mostly from Arab states, might have been chosen as a "soft target" by militants after a recent tough crackdown by Saudi security forces.

"It could be that a group had a pre-arranged plan to carry out an attack and because of recent arrests acted quickly and chose a soft target. The security at the compound was not extensive," said the Saudi-based diplomat.

Diplomats said the bombers killed up to 30 people and wounded up to 100 in the devastating attack, which occurred a day after the United States warned of terrorist raids and shut its missions in Saudi Arabia.

A Saudi security official blamed al Qaeda for the attack on the Muhaya residential compound in west Riyadh.

The attack occurred nearly six months after triple suicide bombings at Riyadh housing compounds on May 12 killed 35 people, including nine Americans.

Saudi Arabia blamed those bombings on al Qaeda. A purported bin Laden audio tape released last month promised suicide attacks inside and outside the United States.

Friday, the United States issued its second security warning on Saudi Arabia in almost as many weeks, saying terrorists were planning attacks in the kingdom.

U.S. missions were shut in the kingdom Saturday for a security review. The warnings were issued before and during Islam's holiest month of Ramadan.

[stlnative]

Well I understand that they fast during Ramadan and only eat after dusk. They also celebrate after dusk during this time. You have to read up on Ramadan.

[stlnative]

This might help explain it...

Saudi journalist: Bombings were 'horrific'


RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) --A day after the United States warned about the threat of terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia, unknown attackers -- who the Saudis say were al Qaeda members -- stormed into a residential complex in Riyadh not far from the U.S. Embassy and set off three powerful explosions that have left a large number of casualties.

CNN International's Colleen McEdwards spoke with Raid Qusti, Riyadh bureau chief for the Arab News daily newspaper, about the blasts that rocked the Saudi capital.

McEDWARDS: Raid, what's the latest from where you are?

QUSTI: The latest is that it has been confirmed that there was a gunbattle. Terrorists opened fire on security guards outside of the compound, and then they broke their way inside the compound and set up explosives that eventually ripped through several buildings.

McEDWARDS: Sorry Raid, I just missed a little bit of what you said. Is it clear how they broke into the compound?

QUSTI: Preliminary reports are telling us that they engaged in a gunbattle after they entered with their vehicles.

McEDWARDS: Any indication of how many cars?

QUSTI: No, we're still receiving information as we speak now.

McEDWARDS: The Saudi Health Ministry has reported one person killed, 14 wounded. Are you hearing anything more current on the official toll of casualties or people who have been killed?

QUSTI: The official toll so far regarding the people who have been injured is 50. Our man is at one of the hospitals where people are being rushed in.

McEDWARDS: Can you just describe what the scene was like when you saw it and what witnesses told you?

QUSTI: If I were to put it in one word it would be "horrific:" The idea that all of this is happening in the capital, especially during the holy month of Ramadan. As you might know, the Ramadan is the sacred holy month [during which] Muslims fast, and they ask God for forgiveness. Riyadh, as any other city in the kingdom, is 100 percent Muslim. The time when the blasts took place was twelve o'clock midnight. People were having their full meal ... Many, many people I spoke to were outraged hearing that innocent children might have been [victims]. If this sign says anything, it is a clear sign that [terrorists] are no longer differentiating between Muslims and non-Muslims. They want clearly to inflict fear in the lives of people here.

[cgk]

You have to read up on Ramadan.

LOL!

Sorry, that just amused me. My daughter is being forced to read up on Islam in school, so maybe she can tell me about it.

I was aware of the "dusk thing" with Ramadan, but it doesn't explain leaving their children behind while they "go shopping or out to eat" (from the news stories)... Didn't the attack happen at midnight local time? That's a little later than dusk.

[SkyPilot]

The blasts ripped through a complex housing mainly Arabs. Hanadi Fundouqli, manager of the Al-Muhaya compound, said all but four of the residents are Arabs.

More horrible bloodshed---especially the innocent children killed and maimed. I spend a lot of time in Saudi---they are a tough people to predict. Perhaps this might shove them over the edge regarding the terror cells in the midst, but sadly, I doubt it.

[stlnative]

eating time is at 12am (I thought it was at dusk) I don't know much about it myself only that they may only go out at night to take care of things, like grocery shop and so on. Maybe someone here can tell us exactly what they don't do during the day and what they have to wait and do after dusk or at 12am.

[stlnative]

During the Fast of Ramadan strict restraints are placed on the daily lives of Muslims. They are not allowed to eat or drink during the daylight hours. Smoking and sexual relations are also forbidden during fasting. At the end of the day the fast is broken with prayer and a meal called the iftar. In the evening following the iftar it is customary for Muslims to go out visiting family and friends. The fast is resumed the next morning

from here... (click to read more if your interested)

http://www.holidays.net/ramadan/story.htm

[cgk]

Darnit! I was just reading a story on Ramadan in Saudi Arabia and the window disappeared and it's not in my history (PDF?), ... it said a lot of Muslims are encouraged to shop (after dusk), because there are all kinds of sales going on, and many think it is disrespectful as Ramadan is supposed to encourage charity, family togetherness and spirituality. Apparently kids don't have to fast until puberty, though they may do so voluntarily. I was trying to find out whether they were allowed to bring children out into public or something similar to maybe explain why the children were left home.

I did find a Wash Post article on it - which says some things about it. It appears to be a bit different in Saudi Arabia than in other countries... Saudi Ramadan Features Modern Overtones

[cgk]

Bombings and arrests in Saudi Arabia

Sunday, November 9, 2003 Posted: 0144 GMT ( 9:44 AM HKT)

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) -- A large explosion rocked a Riyadh residential compound housing foreigners and Saudis a day after the United States warned of terrorist attacks in the kingdom which is battling a surge in Islamist violence.

Following is a chronology of attacks and arrests since triple suicide bombings gutted three Riyadh housing compounds on May 12 and killed 35 people, including nine Americans. Saudi Arabia blames the attacks on the al Qaeda network.

May 12 - Suicide bombers attack compounds in the Saudi capital Riyadh killing 35 people. At least 200 are wounded.

June 7 - Saudi Arabia names 12 suicide bombers who attacked the three housing compounds and says 10 suspects are still sought. Interior Minister Prince Nayef says Saudi Arabia has so far detained 25 people.

June 14 - State-owned television says five "terrorists" and two policemen are killed in a shootout in the holy city of Mecca.

June 20 - Security forces in Mecca arrest four Saudi women after raiding a flat rented by a suspected militant.

June 27 - Saudi Arabia confirms that one of the men wanted in connection with the May 12 bombings, Ali Abdulrahman Saeed al-Faqa'asi al-Ghamdi, handed himself over to Saudi authorities.

July 3 - Saudi Arabia says a key suspect in the Riyadh bombings, Turki Nasser al-Dandani, and three other "wanted terrorists" were killed in a shootout with security forces.

July 21 - Saudi Arabia says it arrests 16 militants planning more attacks.

August 13 - Interior minister says Saudi Arabia arrests five Muslim militants after a Riyadh shootout in which four policeman and an Islamist were killed two days earlier.

September 17 - Riyadh says Yemen handed over a suspected al Qaeda member and seven other wanted Saudis to the kingdom.

September 23 - At least one Saudi policeman and three militants are killed in a shootout in the southern Jizan province.

October 22 - Saudi envoy to London, Prince Turki al-Faisal, says Riyadh has arrested nearly 600 people since the Riyadh bombings. He said of those arrested, around 190 had already been released, between 70 and 90 were being sent for trial and between 250 and 300 were still being interrogated.

November 3 - Saudi police kill two Islamic militants in a clash in Mecca, foiling a "terrorist" plot and seizing rocket-propelled grenades, guns, explosives and ammunition.

November 6 - Two Muslim militants blow themselves up during a police raid in Mecca, hours after another militant was shot dead in the capital Riyadh.

November 7 - United States says terrorists are planning attacks in Saudi Arabia. U.S. missions close in the kingdom on Saturday.

November 9 - Explosions rock Riyadh residential compound housing foreigners and Saudis.

[cgk]

Thanks for that link! A lot of what I was finding was more about current events than tradition.

[stlnative]

www.albawaba.com
November 09, 2003
Suicide bombing attack in Riyadh: Unknown number of dead

Three blasts rocked a residential compound in the Saudi capital late Saturday night, killing at least two people and injuring 86, in what a government official said was a suicide car bombing.

Just before the midnight blasts, an unknown number of attackers broke into the upscale compound of about 200 houses, a Saudi official said, and gunfire was heard. It was unclear if three individual bombs had detonated or whether it was one that set off multiple explosions.

An Interior Ministry official told The Associated Press early Sunday the attack was a suicide car bombing, and that two security guards were killed and 86 people wounded. The official said he believed it was launched by al-Qaeda because of similarities to a May 12 attack in the capital that killed 35 people.

Immediately after the explosion Saturday night, there were widely conflicting reports of the number of dead. An official at a Riyadh hospital said dozens of people were killed, but, when contacted again, said only that some people were dead.

One resident in the compound, Rabie Hadeka, told Al-Arabiya television 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."

But Al-Arabiya television reported that four people, including one child, were killed. It also reported that the bodies of the attackers had been found.

A woman living in the compound told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that "there is lot of blood" at the scene of the explosions.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Amanda Batt said from Washington that one American was wounded and one was unaccounted for.

Diplomats and officials said most of the residents of the compound's 200 houses were Lebanese. Some Saudis also live there, plus a few German, French and Italian families.

Officials at the King Khaled Specialist Hospital and the King Faisal Special Hospital & Research Center said the two hospitals received 38 wounded people.

The Saudi government 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 the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during the day and have dinners and parties late into the night.

In the latest attack, diplomats reported one big explosion about midnight, followed by two smaller ones 15 seconds apart. Dozens of police cars and ambulances raced toward the site of the blasts, sirens wailing, and helicopters hovered overhead. Traffic was tied up across the city. (Albawaba.com)

[cgk]

I missed this until just now... Thank you. How horrible and sad this story is. The other thread on this has pictures that are just brutal.

[cgk]

Did you catch that one witness account earlier that said something about people on "rises" firing on the compound before the bombings began? Sounded like snipers.

[blam]

" Many, many people I spoke to were outraged hearing that innocent children might have been [victims]. If this sign says anything, it is a clear sign that [terrorists] are no longer differentiating between Muslims and non-Muslims. They want clearly to inflict fear in the lives of people here."

I wonder if the Palestinians are dancing in the streets tonight?

[At _War_With_Liberals]

The media and observers always portray or at least imply that all Muslims lead this "holy" existence.

It is exxagerated. The profuse respect the media gives all Muslims regarding their religion is really pissing me off.

Like our enemis are praying, fasting, and doing good works by day, and then fighting the occupation at night. "This holy day, this holy place, this holy man, this holy pilgrim age"


Enough already! Enough.