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Militants attack US consulate
http://www.sina.com.cn 2004/12/07 11:15  Shanghai Daily

  Islamic militants threw explosives at the gate of the heavily guarded US consulate in Saudi Arabia's Jiddah, then forced their way into the building and held civilians at gunpoint, prompting a gunbattle that left seven people dead and several injured before the three-hour crisis was brought under control.

  Three attackers were among those killed, while two others were injured and arrested, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced. Saudi security officials also said four of their forces, who apparently stormed the compound after the initial attack, were killed.

  The ministry statement did not mention hostages. But a Saudi official, speaking from Riyadh on the condition of anonymity, said numerous civilians inside the compound were confronted by the attackers and held at gunpoint.

  The official said a gun battle quickly ensued when Saudi security officials became concerned that the civilians were about to be injured.

  In Riyadh, US Embassy spokeswoman Carol Kalin said two local staff members were injured, but all American employees were safe and none had been taken hostage. In Washington, a State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said several Americans suffered minor injuries.

  The attack came on a day when US President George W. Bush was to meet separately with Iraq's interim president and Jordan's king.

  Saudi security forces, including snipers, could be seen on the rooftops of buildings around the consulate compound. Thick smoke rose from the compound, and helicopters hovered overhead.

  The statement by a Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman, carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, said a "deviant bunch" - a reference to Islamic militants - threw explosives at the gate of the consulate, then entered. Saudi security forces engaged the attackers, "killing three aggressors, and two were captured after they were hit," the statement said.

  "The situation was brought under control," the statement said. It gave no further details.

  The Saudi official in Riyadh said the gunmen got to an area inside the initial security gate at the consulate compound, but were outside the secondary gate that protects the consulate offices.

  There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But Saudi officials have blamed al-Qaida operatives for the string of attacks that have hit the kingdom in the past two years.

  On Islamic militant Websites, contributors began hailing the attack even before it was over, with one person praising it as "destruction of a bastion of atheism."

  The consulate - like all US diplomatic buildings and other Western compounds in Saudi Arabia - has been heavily fortified and guarded since last year's series of bombings against targets housing foreigners.

  The attacks on Western targets in Saudi Arabia started in 2003, when car bombs targeted three compounds housing foreign workers in Riyadh, killing 35 people, including nine suicide bombers. Later that year, a suicide car bomb killed 17 people and wounded 122 at a compound for foreign workers in Riyadh.

  The Saudi government then cracked down hard, arresting and killing many key militants, and quieting the attacks somewhat.

  Last May, however, 22 people were killed, including 19 foreigners, by militants who took over a resort complex in Khobar and held hostages for 25 hours.

  In another attack that month, militants stormed offices of Houston-based ABB Lummus Global Inc in Yanbu, killing six Westerners and a Saudi. All four attackers in Yanbu died in a shootout after an hour-long police chase in which they dragged the body of an American from the bumper of their car.

  In June, militants in Riyadh, the capital, kidnapped and beheaded Paul M. Johnson Jr, an engineer for a US defense company.

  About 9,000 Americans live in the Jiddah consular district encompassing western Saudi Arabia from Yemen to Jordan.

  (The Associated Press)


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