Saudi Arabia: Suspected Suicide Bombing in Riyadh


Transcribed from Gulf Daily News
April 22, 2004

Other Breaking News President Bush on Wednesday rejected international condemnation of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and said world leaders owed Sharon a "thank you" for his plans for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.Bush blasted the Palestinian leadership as having "failed the people, year after year after year" by not preventing terrorism against the Jewish state. Read here for more Mordecai Vanunu was released by Israel after 18 years but fears for his safety remain. Chaotic scenes greeted the 49-year-old former nuclear technician. His supporters, who had travelled from as far away as Japan and Minnesota, threw pink and white carnations and waved welcoming placards proclaiming him a "peace hero". Angry opponents tore up the flowers, threw eggs at the campaigners, made throat slitting gestures and chanted "Death! Death!" as he emerged from the jail, with his brother, Meir. He said he still believed he had acted correctly in exposing Israel's nuclear weapons programme at Dimona where he worked until 1985. Vanunu told the crowd:"I said Israel doesn't need nuclear arms, especially now that the Middle East is free from nuclear weapons. Iraq doesn't have nuclear weapons, Libya, Iran ... my message today is all the world to open the Dimona reactor for inspections. Call Mohamed ElBaradei [of the International Atomic Energy Agency] to come and inspect Dimona." Read here for more

A suicide car bomber destroyed a Saudi security forces building in the capital yesterday, killing four people, including two security men, and wounding 148 people in the first major attack on a government target.

An Interior Ministry statement read on Saudi television said the four dead also included one civil servant and an 11-year-old Syrian girl.

Security sources earlier said at least 10 people, including a senior officer, were killed and 70 wounded in what an official said was the sixth attempt at such a "terrorist attack" in a week. Five others were foiled.

A Saudi official had identified the officer as Colonel Abdulrahman Al Saleh. Witnesses saw the body of the suicide bomber charred inside the vehicle.

The Interior Ministry statement said all but 45 of the wounded were discharged from hospital and that three were in critical condition.

The bomber tried to crash his vehicle into the compound at 2pm and set off a huge blast 30 metres from the building when guards tried to stop him.

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah and Interior Minister Prince Nayef visited the wounded and pledged to punish the attackers.

US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage visiting the kingdom yesterday held talks with Abdullah over Iraq and bilateral ties.

Saudi TV showed uniformed security force personnel in hospital. "I was in the office when the blast happened. Thank God for everything," said one bloodied and bruised survivor.

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