U.S. Consulate In Saudi Arabia Attacked

[ObieX]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/...ack/index.html

8 die in attack on U.S. consulate
Al Qaeda suspected, U.S. official tells CNN
Monday, December 6, 2004 Posted: 12:56 PM EST (1756 GMT)


(CNN) -- Eight people have been killed in a gunbattle between Saudi security forces and five gunmen who attacked the U.S. consulate in the port city of Jeddah.

Saudi forces killed three of the gunmen and captured two others, both of whom were wounded, the Saudi Interior Ministry said.

Five consular employees -- four local staff members and a contract guard -- were also killed. Four other local staff members were injured and recovering in hospital, U.S. officials said.

The U.S. Embassy said no Americans were killed or suffered any serious injuries.

The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, as well as the consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran, will be closed Tuesday because of the incident, according to a warden's message distributed to all American citizens living in Saudi Arabia.

The message also American citizens to "exercise utmost security precautions" in the wake of the attack.

In Washington, U.S. President George W. Bush said the incident showed "terrorists are still on the move" trying to get the United States to leave Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

A U.S. State Department official told CNN al Qaeda was suspected in the attack.

Asked who the gunmen were, the Saudi Interior Ministry official said they were "wanted" but it was unclear if they were al Qaeda members.

The Interior Ministry said the militants threw explosives at two gates of the sprawling, walled consulate and then entered, exchanging fire with guards.

A Saudi official said several members of the Saudi security forces were killed and several others wounded.

In addition, he said some Saudi civilians who were at the consulate were hit by the gunfire.

A senior Saudi official in Washington told CNN's Andrea Koppel an unknown number of third-country nationals who work at the consulate were taken hostage for a time. Some suffered wounds but all were released. A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman said no Americans had been taken hostage.

The Saudi official said they believe a grenade was "thrown in as a diversion." The attackers "stormed into part of the consulate" known as the visa section, where they took the third-country nationals hostage.

A reporter who went to the scene, Mohammed Al-Khereiji of the newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, said that the attackers entered through the south gate, where mail is delivered to the consulate. He said grenades were used and a fire broke out in the compound but was later extinguished.

A senior Bush administration official said there was gunfire, an explosion and then more gunfire as the attack was launched around 11:15 a.m. (3:15 a.m. ET).

Khaled al-Maeena with Arab News in Jeddah said ambulances could be seen going to and from the area around the consulate, and helicopters had been circling overhead.

In April, the State Department ordered "non-emergency employees and all dependents of the U.S. Embassy Riyadh and Consulates General Jeddah and Dhahran ... to leave the country," because of ongoing security concerns, and urged Americans to defer travel to the kingdom.

"The U.S. government continues to receive indications of terrorist threats aimed at American and Western interests, including the targeting of transportation and civil aviation," an earlier travel warning from December 2003 said.

"American citizens in Saudi Arabia should remain vigilant, particularly in public places associated with the Western community," it said.

It said Americans who "travel to, or remain in, Saudi Arabia despite this travel warning" should register with the consular section of the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh or at the consulates in Jeddah and Dahran.

As recently as August, a vehicle from the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah was hit by gunfire from a single assailant while driving in the city. The two occupants of the vehicle -- the driver and a consulate American employee, were not injured in the attack.

Al Qaeda-led suicide attacks struck Riyadh housing compounds in May and July of 2003, killing 40 people, most of them Muslims.

I take this as a bad sign. It seems AQ and other forces are starting to think that since they're not getting very far in Iraq (other than just getting killed) its time to branch out and start attacking other places. If this is the case this could get so much worse. The reason this bothers me so much (attacks in other places isn't new) is because this wasn't just someone setting a car bomb someplace and running, or one person with a suicide bomb. This was a group of people, armed pretty well, storming into a building, like they have been doing in Iraq, and shooting the place up, taking it over. This in my mind is much worse. Imagine if this started happening in the US? A group of sleeper terrorists walking into a mall and opening fire with grenades and worse, or storming other US buildings. Something like this already happened once in Saudi Arabia if i recall correctly. A bunch of troops storming into a US related compound and just shooting anyone and everyone.

Edit: Forgot Link

[guy44]

Well, yeah this is a bad thing. But there is no way in hell that this happened because Al Qaeda was "thinking that since they're not getting very far in Iraq (other than just getting killed) its time to branch out and start attacking other places."

First off, Al Qaeda has many members and is not all in Iraq, or Saudi Arabia, or anywhere else. The idea that they are just in Iraq, lured there by America so that they don't have operations anywhere else is laughable.

Secondly, many of the terrorists in Iraq are not Al Qaeda, and not foreign to the country. Of the first 1,000 insurgents found in Fallujah after the recent military campaign there, only 15 or so weren't Iraqi.

So this has nothing to do with Al Qaeda being frustrated with Iraq (I mean, the insurgents are doing a bang up job in Iraq, its a disaster there). The terrorists are really getting quite far in Iraq. They were never limited to Iraq, however, and this is just another branch of their operations.

[ObieX]

Yea well AQ and other forces. And while they all may not have been flocking to Iraq, thats where a lot of the focus is at the moment for many groups. While the vast majority of fighters may not be from AQ or other countries, there are many from outside organizations pulling the strings in lots of cases, and some teaming up with AQ (such as groups like AQ In Iraq, whil they may not be under the direct influence of AQ they seemed to have joined forces, atleast in name.) I never said it was all AQ doing the damage in the reagion, but they do play a big part in why this started, where it is, and where it's going. Yes AQ is everywhere, and that's part of my point. If they start to pick up attacks in all the places they are, we will be in some deep trouble.

[MSD]

Two things:

First, not everyone who attacks us, or anyone else, is Al Quaeda. Our media and our government officials don't seem to want us to think that.

Second, I'm disgusted with our media for reporting this as "Three gunmen were killed, and there were no US casualties." Wake up! Eight people died while protecting our diplomats. We should at least give them the dignity of mentioning them.

[ObieX]

I agree with both points, especially the second. This happens constantly in Iraq. The headline will always read something like: OMG! 1 US SOLDIER DEAD IN IRAQ!!!!!!! (....and oh yea.. 75 Iraqis died too... but you don't care about that, even though they were civilians or fighting along side us)

[Bill O'Rights]

Originally Posted by MrSelfDestruct

Eight people died while protecting our diplomats. We should at least give them the dignity of mentioning them.

I noticed that...and, thank you.

[Ustwo]

At least the biased, right wing, evil Fox news got it right....

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Twelve people were killed and several others injured during a gunbattle at the U.S. consulate in Jiddah Monday after Islamic terrorists hurled explosives at the gate of the heavily guarded compound, then forced their way into the main building.

Five non-American U.S. employees, four Saudi security officials and three of the attackers were killed during the three-hour long crisis. Seven of the injured were in the hospital. Two other attackers were injured and arrested, according to the Saudi Interior Ministry (search).

I've always hated the 'no americans were killed' version of the news.

[Cadwiz]

Yeah, it does seem to make us look like we don't care.

[guy44]

I agree, our news reports are often incredibly myopic. American parochialism is a well-commented upon phenomenon. Take, for example, Somalia in the early 90s. A handful of American soldiers were killed during a terribly planned assault, and the domestic pressure to pull out was overwhelming. Even though so, so many Somalians and other peacekeepers had already died.

[Mojo_PeiPei]

That's different though. Our boys were dying in a conflict that no way involved us. We were trying to help stabilize the country, and all that happened was our boys got shot at, albeit very poorly, by stupid Somali thugs.

[Ustwo]

Originally Posted by Mojo_PeiPei

That's different though. Our boys were dying in a conflict that no way involved us. We were trying to help stabilize the country, and all that happened was our boys got shot at, albeit very poorly, by stupid Somali thugs.

No we tried to play hard ball in somalia with a poorly planned raid and we got pasted for it. Its the one thing I won't ever forgive Clinton for.

[Locobot]

I thought our Iraq junta was supposed to magically attract all terrorists and ensure that we wouldn't be attacked elsewhere. Neo-con "logic" failing...does not compute...can't apply farsical theory...Saudi allies...liberals enemies...does not compute...does not compute....

[Bill O'Rights]

Originally Posted by Ustwo

No we tried to play hard ball in somalia with a poorly planned raid and we got pasted for it. Its the one thing I won't ever forgive Clinton for.

True...true...and true.
However, I wasn't aware that Bill personally planned that botch job. I thought that was why we paid Generals, and Colonels.

[Rekna]

No no no you see any failure under Clinton's watch was Clinton's fault and any failure under Bush's watch was Clinton's fault. Hasn't the media taught you anything yet?