Posted on 06/21/2002 8:06:16 AM PDT by white trash redneck
A British employee of Al-Bank Al-Saudi Al-Fransi was killed instantly yesterday morning when a bomb exploded in his Land Rover Discovery in Prince Turki II Street in the northern Al-Nakheel district of Riyadh.
Simon John Vinesse, 35, who was married to a South African and the father of a one-year-old child, had been working as a financial risk consultant for the bank for four years, Thibauld de Fayet, the bank’s corporate communications manager, told Arab News.
Maj. Gen. Abdullah ibn Saad Al-Shahrani said that police believed the explosion, which occurred at 8:54 a.m., was caused by a bomb planted in the victim’s car. Debris was scattered as far as 300 meters from the vehicle. Police quickly cordoned off the area and prevented journalists and photographers from getting near the scene.
The bomb victim lived in a villa in the exclusive Al-Nakheel residential district of the capital, populated by wealthy American and European expatriates and Saudi businessmen.
The bomb went off outside Al-Nakheel compound, located in the area. Initial reports mistakenly said that Vinesse was a resident there.
Another source at the Saudi French Bank, speaking to Arab News on condition of anonymity, said that Vinesse had resigned from the bank and was making plans to leave the Kingdom for good. However, other reports stated that the Briton was getting ready only to take his annual leave.
A Saudi official told Arab News last night: “It looks as though this incident is related to previous bombings involving British expatriates illegally smuggling and selling alcohol. However, we are not ruling out any possibility at this early stage.”
An eyewitness told Arab News: “It seems from the way the car was blown apart that the explosive device was directly under the driver’s seat.”
Two bombings in Riyadh in late 2000 killed a Briton and injured four others. A Scottish man was injured in an explosion in Alkhobar in December 2000.
In March 2001, a Briton and an Egyptian were injured in a bombing outside a large downtown Riyadh bookstore. In May 2001, an American was seriously injured in Alkhobar when the package he was opening exploded in his face.
Saudi officials have explained that those blasts arose from disputes between gangs smuggling alcohol. Five Britons, a Canadian and a Belgian have been arrested in connection with the bombings, and confessed on television. The latest victim is reported to have had many Canadian friends.
The Saudi ambassador to Britain, Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi, expressed his deep sorrow over the incident.
He said that investigations were continuing and that it would be premature to draw any conclusions regarding a motive for the bombing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.