Gardner has been BBC security correspondent for the last two years
Posted on 06/06/2004 5:06:50 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Two BBC men shot in Saudi capital
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Gardner has been BBC security correspondent for the last two years |
BBC cameraman Simon Cumbers has been killed and correspondent Frank Gardner injured after gunmen opened fire near the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
Cumbers, 36, was a freelance journalist and cameraman working for the BBC, the BBC said in a statement.
Frank Gardner, 42, is the BBC's security correspondent and a leading expert on al-Qaeda, the statement said
Riyadh's police chief said the attack was carried out by "unknown elements" on Sunday afternoon.
The BBC statement said the two men had travelled to Saudi Arabia last week following terrorist attacks in the city of Khobar and have been reporting from the country for BBC News since then.
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| Cumbers had worked throughout the world filming major news stories |
It said that Gardner was being treated in hospital in Riyadh.
BBC Director of News Richard Sambrook said that Gardner "suffered, I gather, a number of gunshot wounds".
"Our thoughts are with the families of Simon and Frank tonight. We are in touch with them and offering them all the support that we can," Mr Sambrook said.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the British ambassador in Saudi Arabia was at the hospital.
The Saudi ambassador in Britain, Prince Turki al-Faisal, offered "the most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the families" of Cumbers and Gardner.
| We will not allow this incident or any other attack to deter us from our goal, the eradication of this wicked group whose aim is to destabilise our society |
| Prince Turki al-Faisal Saudi ambassador to UK |
"Frank Gardner is personally known to me and to many people in Saudi Arabia as a highly respected journalist," the Saudi ambassador added.
"He has been vigorous in his pursuit of the truth behind the terrible evil of al-Qaeda which haunts us all and we wish him a speedy recover and safe return to his family in Britain."
The attack comes a week after the hostage crisis in Khobar, in which 22 people were killed.
The reports Gardner and Cumbers had already filed from Saudi Arabia spoke of a new climate of fear among expatriates there, the BBC's Paul Welsh reports.
Sunday's tragedy highlights the reality of what the two men were trying to report - that al-Qaeda supporters are making Saudi Arabia increasingly dangerous for foreigners, our correspondent adds.
Security fears
The southern Riyadh neighbourhood where the gun attack took place, al-Suwaydi, has been the location for anti-terror raids in the past, news station al-Arabiya reported.
Security sources said the gunmen had escaped and roadblocks had been set up in an effort to catch them, the Reuters news agency reported.
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The Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to Saudi, with officials believing terrorists are planning further attacks after the Khobar killings.
Three of the gunmen responsible for the Khobar attack, thought to be linked with al-Qaeda, were able to escape the security cordon in Khobar.
And there are thought to be a number of al-Qaeda linked cells operating in the country.
Five suspected militants were killed within days of the Khobar attack and the Saudi government has vowed to stamp out terror, with the religious authorities calling on Muslims to inform on plotters.
Commentators say Islamists may be targeting expatriates and the oil industry in order to weaken the ruling house's grip on power.
The Khobar siege helped push world oil prices to record highs before producers pledged to hike output.
It followed a string of other attacks in the kingdom, with two Britons among five Westerners shot dead in the port town of Yanbu on 1 May.
LOL. Thanks USMC. I figured the T was for Terrorist but was thinking the W stood for something like "whoop"
Now the agonizing appraisal: what worse will replace the House of Saud?
The civil wat in Saudi is on, don't forget
Syria.
The civil war that is.
"Our "wallets" is the last thing we need to worry about! "
Well, I haven't panicked yet about the situation in Saudi. I think they can handle the terrorist problem if they decide to. They just haven't quite made up their minds, but they're heading in the right direction. After that, it's civil war within the family.
Exactly. Time for more hand-wringing at the Beeb. "Wh-wh-wh-y don't they LIKE us? What did we DO?"
"How long before BBC blames Bush?"
You wearing a watch with a second hand?
This is nothing compared to what might be ahead.
They're TERRORISTS. That's what they DO.
"If this happens enough the media might just catch on that terrorists are the bad guys."
Yeah, Baby!
It also might thin out the herd a bit, too, and make some room for conservative journalism...
That'll never happen. They'll just say that if we built the terrorists more day care centers, they would love us and stop the killing.
What effect will this have on BBC's pro-Arab, anti-Israel, anti-American bigotry?More of the same will be the result, but it won't make them safe. An American publisher or editor (Hearst? dunno) once said, never start a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel. Killing journalists riles some people against the killers, while killing journalists riles the same people against leaders.
PICTURE http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/AFP/SGE_BWV10_060604223856_00_245x183.jpg
PICTURE
From story:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/88792/1/.html
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