Free Republic

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Six Saudi clerics who once espoused Islamic radicalism condemned a wave of attacks on Westerners, part of the kingdom's efforts to rally its people against al-Qaida's stepped-up campaign to oust the ruling family. The U.S. ambassador in Saudi Arabia met Monday with relatives of two Americans who were the latest victims of militant attacks: Kenneth Scroggs, who was gunned down in his garage, and Paul M. Johnson, who was kidnapped, reportedly after being drugged. Ambassador James C. Oberwetter said he expressed his condolences to Scroggs' widow and gave Johnson's wife "my hopes for his safe...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - A purported al-Qaida statement Saturday claimed the terror group had kidnapped one American man in the Saudi capital and killed another American. It threatened to treat the captive as U.S. troops treated Iraqi prisoners. Earlier Saturday, an American identified by the U.S. Embassy as Kenneth Scroggs was shot and killed as he pulled his car into the garage of his Riyadh home. The statement claimed al-Qaida had killed an American at his house but did not identify him. The U.S. Embassy confirmed an American was missing but would not identify him. "We do have reports...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - A purported al-Qaida statement Saturday claimed the terror group had kidnapped an American man in the Saudi capital and threatened to treat him as U.S. troops treated Iraqi prisoners. The online statement also claimed al-Qaida had killed an American. American citizen Kenneth Scroggs was shot and killed in the parking garage of his house Saturday afternoon. The U.S. Embassy confirmed another American was missing but would not identify him. "We do have reports of a missing American," an embassy spokesperson said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We are working with local authorities to find him and...

An American man has been shot dead in the Saudi capital, Riyadh - the third westerner to be killed there in a week. Witnesses say the man was shot inside his car as he parked in front of his house. A United States military contractor and a BBC cameraman have already been killed this week amid a spate of attacks on foreigners in the kingdom. The attacks have been blamed on radical Islamists with links to the Al Qaeda network. Last month, gunmen opened fire on foreigners in the eastern city of Khobar, killing 22 people. Another attack in the...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - An American was shot and killed Saturday while parking his car at his home in the Saudi capital, the third slaying of a Westerner in the kingdom in a week. Witnesses told The Associated Press that the American man was pulling into his home's parking garage when three militants shot him in the back, then moved closer to fire more shots from a short distance. The chief of police in Riyadh said a "resident holding the American nationality" was killed in the capital's Malaz district Saturday afternoon, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. A...