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17 Killed, 122 Hurt In Riyadh Blasts
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Rescue
workers search through the rubble in the bombed-out al-Muhaya
expatriate housing compound
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RIYADH,
November 10 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Seventeen
people, including five children, were confirmed killed and 122 others
injured in Saturday, November 8 midnight suicide bombing that ripped
through a residential compound west of Riyadh, the Saudi interior
ministry said late Sunday, November 9.
The
dead included seven Lebanese, four Egyptians, one Saudi and one
Sudanese, said a ministry official quoted by the Saudi TV and the
Saudi Press Agency.
He
said that the death toll rose from the 11 given hours earlier after
rescue workers found more bodies in the rubble of the al-Muhaya
compound in the Wadi Laban suburb, located behind the Al-Yamama royal
palace.
"The
search and investigation are continuing, and a follow-up statement
will be issued in due course," the official added, suggesting the
toll might rise further.
The
nationalities of the remaining four fatalities have not yet been
determined, he said.
The
ministry did not give a figure for the wounded in the latest statement
but it had earlier put them at 122, reported Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
The
wounded included Bangladeshis, Egyptians, Eritreans, Ethiopians,
Filipinos, Indians, Indonesians, Jordanians, Lebanese, Pakistanis,
Palestinians, Romanians, Saudis, Sri Lankans, Sudanese, Syrians and Turks.
The
ministry's breakdown of the injured also included four Arab Americans
and six Canadians, five of whom are of Arab extraction.
Most
of those injured were lightly wounded, the official said, but 25
people remained in hospital Sunday night.
As
well as the death toll, Lebanese also topped the list of wounded at
53, followed by 17 Egyptians and eight Jordanians. Thirty-six of the
wounded are children, and the male-female ratio is 66-56.
An
Egyptian mother, father and two children perished in the blast and
were found Sunday under the debris, the Egyptian embassy told AFP.
The
40-year-old father was named as engineer Ali Ragheb, whose children
Omar and Ahmed were aged eight and four respectively.
The
deadly explosion came six months after similar
blasts that
hit three residential complexes in the Saudi capital,
killing 90 people, including up to 12 Americans.
Al-Qaeda
Hallmarks
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A
father carries his child who was injured in the attack
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A
Saudi official said Saturday night's that the carnage bore the
hallmarks of the Al-Qaeda network headed by Saudi-born Osama bin
Laden, whose followers in the Kingdom have been subjected to a
relentless crackdown since they were blamed for last May's triple
bombings.
"The
method in which the bombing was executed is similar to that used in
the May 12 bombings," the Saudi official told AFP, requesting
anonymity.
"This
confirms that those who carried out the bombing belong to Al-Qaeda
movement," he said.
Another
official told AFP that only one residential compound was bombed,
denying an initial U.S. State Department's report that three complexes
were hit by explosions.
"There
may have been two or three blasts in the Al-Muhaya compound, but there
were no explosions in three (different) compounds," the official
said, requesting anonymity.
The
Saudi Interior Ministry issued a statement indicating that a terrorist
bombing rocked the Al-Muhaya compound, at a time when many people were
awake just hours before the "suhur" meal preceding the
dawn-to-dusk fast observed by Muslims during Ramadan, providing no
further details.
Compound
owner Mohammad Saleh al-Muhaya said gunmen fired on guards from a hill
overlooking the complex as the apparently stolen a police jeep.
The
blast came on the same day the United States closed its missions in
Saudi Arabia for a security review after warning of what it termed
"possible terror attacks" during the holy month of Ramadan,
and which have been echoed by other Western states.
Following
the bomb attack, Washington ordered its diplomatic staff and their
families in Saudi Arabia to remain in their homes and not to leave the
area of Riyadh where embassies are located, the State Department said.
"Because
of the bombing at a Riyadh residential compound, the embassy is
advising the American community in Riyadh that it currently remains
closed to the public," the department said in a notice released
by the U.S. embassy in the Saudi capital.
"In
addition, embassy personnel and their dependents are restricting their
movements and will remain in the Diplomatic Quarter pending further
assessment of the security situation," it said.
The
shuddering bombing opened a crater around two meters (yards) deep in
the ground. At least 15 cars, including one with diplomatic license
plates, were gutted by the explosion.
U.S.
Support
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Such
acts "only aim to destabilize, terrify and kill"
innocent people, Mussa
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Following
the attack, U.S. President George W. Bush assured Saudi Crown Prince
Abdullah the United States stood with his country in the wake of
the new deadly attack in Riyadh, a White House official said.
"The president spoke to Crown
Prince Abdullah this morning (Sunday) and he expressed his condolences
to the people of Saudi Arabia and to the families of those killed in
yesterday's attack," a White House official said on condition of
anonymity.
"The
president also told the crown prince that the United Stated stands
with Saudi Arabia in the war against terrorism."
"He
condemns this terrorist act in the strongest possible terms," the
spokesman added.
Meanwhile,
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage arrived in Riyadh to
discuss the fight against terrorism with Saudi officials.
An
embassy spokesperson told AFP Sunday that the embassy in Riyadh and
the consulates in the Red Sea city of Jeddah and the eastern city of
Dhahran would remain closed at least through Tuesday, November 11,
which coincides with Veterans Day, a U.S. national holiday.
World
Condemnations
Furthermore,
the terrorist attack has come under diatribe from the four corners of
the world.
U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan was "horrified" by the new
terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia, a senior U.N. official said.
"The
secretary general is horrified by last night's attack against a
residential compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia," said U.N.
spokesman Fred Eckhard. "He condemns this terrorist act in the
strongest possible terms."
Italian
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, whose country currently holds the
rotating E.U. presidency, on Sunday condemned the Riyadh bombing as
"vile and ferocious".
In
a message of condolence to his Saudi
counterpart Saud Al Faisal, Frattini said he had been "deeply
shocked" by the attacks.
"On
behalf of the council of the European Union, the government and people
of Italy, and also on a personal level, I want to express the deepest
and most sincere condolences to the victims of these vile and terrible
attacks."
"This
sad circumstance confirms the necessity to continue to fight together,
and with the greatest determination, terrorism in all its forms."
Egyptian
Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher on Sunday also condemned the car bombing,
confirming the death of four Egyptians.
"Egypt
strongly deplores this attack and stands firmly against any terrorist
attack," Maher told reporters.
He
said he was "convinced that such acts do not represent the
welcoming Saudi people" and expressed hope that "the
brotherly Saudi people and the Egyptians working in Saudi Arabia will
no longer be victims" of such attacks.
The
22-member Arab League denounced the attack as a "terrorist and
criminal" act while Saudi Arabia and its five neighbors in the
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) condemned it as "cowardly and
terrorist."
Arab
League Secretary General Amr Mussa said such acts "only aim to
destabilize, terrify and kill" innocent people without taking
into account the sacred character of the Muslim fasting month of
Ramadan.
Malaysian
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Monday condemned the bombing
and expressed confidence that the government will take the appropriate
steps to ensure security.
"We
are saddened with what happen in Riyadh. If it is an act of terror, we
condemn the terrorists who carried out the bomb attack," Abdullah
told reporters in parliament.
Philippines
President Gloria Arroyo also on Monday sent her condolences to the
Saudi authorities over the attack where nearly one million Filipinos
work and one was injured in the blast.
"I
send my condolences to the people of Saudi Arabia in the wake of this
attack. I hope the Filipina who was hurt recovers quickly,"
Arroyo said in a written statement.
Chinese
President Hu Jintao Monday "strongly condemned" the
terrorist attack, the Xinhua news agency reported.
In
a message to Saudi King Fahd Ibn Abdul-Aziz, Hu expressed sympathy for
the victims and their families and pledged China's support in the war
on terrorism.
Canadian
Foreign Minister Bill Graham, for his part, "strongly
condemns" the blast, offering condolences to the families of the
victims.
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