U.S. Consulate in a Saudi City Is Hit, Killing 9

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Five attackers thought to be linked to Al Qaeda staged a daytime raid on the American Consulate here on Monday, storming through a fortified gate into the sprawling compound and starting a three-hour gun battle that left five consulate employees and four of the attackers dead.
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A brief announcement from the Interior Ministry, carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, said that "members of a deviant group threw explosives at the gate of the U.S. Consulate." The terminology is the ministry's usual shorthand for the offshoots of the terrorist network Al Qaeda operating inside Saudi Arabia.

The announcement said Saudi security forces wanted to assure the public that they were determined to stamp out anyone attempting to bring "schisms and corruption" into the country.

The attack brought a huge swath of Jidda, Saudi Arabia's financial and trade hub, to a standstill. News of the raid was also followed by a small jump in world oil prices.

During a news conference in Washington, President Bush thanked the Saudi government for responding to the attack quickly and vowed to resist pressure from terrorists.

"The attacks in Saudi Arabia remind us that the terrorists are still on the move," he said. "They're interested in affecting the will of free countries. They want us to leave Saudi Arabia. They want us to leave Iraq. They want us to grow timid and weary in the face of their willingness to kill randomly and kill innocent people."
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The American government would not say how many employees worked at the consulate, but there is a heavy economic contingent here because of the amount of trade that flows through Jidda.

Five consulate employees were killed in the attack, and four were seriously wounded, the embassy said. While no Americans died, a few suffered minor scrapes and bruises. Those killed included a local security guard, and the rest were thought to have been drivers or other staff from the motor pool who appeared to have been caught outside.

The Saudi government said civilians had been wounded in the attack. It also said five Saudi security officers were hurt when they rushed the compound, though all were treated and released afterward. Officials said three of the attackers were killed at the compound, and a fourth died of his injuries later.

The statement said those killed were a Yemeni, a Sudanese, a Filipino, a Pakistani and a Sri Lankan, while those wounded included two Yemenis, two Pakistanis, a Lebanese, a Filipino, an Indian and a Sri Lankan.

At the Saudi Embassy in Washington, Adel al-Jubair, an aide to Crown Prince Abdullah, told reporters that the attackers had called an emergency line in the kingdom to announce that they were members of the Falluja Brigades and had seized about 15 hostages. But he and American officials said no hostages had been held at any time within the compound.

The American Embassy in Riyadh and the consulate in Dhahran were closed as a precaution immediately after the attack in Jidda started, and they will remain closed on Tuesday, Ms. Kalin said.

I wonder who was behind this attack. I, of course, believe it was a terrorist group, but I am suspicious as to if Saudi Arabia or the Saudi royal family may have links to the terrorists.

I'll have to check in the morning. I wish I could write more, but there is not enough time in the day.