|
U.S. State Department Report
Jeddah Attack Will Not Deter Fight Against
Terror, Powell Says
(Eight killed in terrorist attack at U.S. Consulate in Jeddah)
(490)
Washington -- Secretary of State Colin Powell says the
December 6 attack
against U.S. government interests in Saudi Arabia "will
not deter us in our
fight against terrorism."
Powell, asked by a reporter for his reaction to the attack
against the U.S.
Consulate in Jeddah during a visit to Sofia, Bulgaria,
responded by saying:
"We deplore this kind of terrorist activity, and my
condolences go to the
families of those who lost their lives."
Eight persons were killed in a December 6 terrorist assault
on the U.S.
consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, according to State
Department deputy
spokesman Adam Ereli.
The dead included three of the five gunmen who breached the
compound's
security gate and attempted to enter the office building of
the U.S. Consul
General. Saudi security forces apprehended the other two
attackers.
President Bush also reacted to news of the attack December
6, saying it is
a reminder that "terrorists are on the move." During
a joint appearance in
Washington with Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawer, Bush said
these terrorists
want the U.S. presence in Saudi Arabia and Iraq to end.
"They want us to
grow timid and weary," he said, through random killing of
innocents. "And
that's why," he said, "these elections in Iraq are
very important."
Ereli said four local consulate employees and a guard were
also killed, and
another four local consulate employees were injured. All of
them were
assigned to transportation, housekeeping and maintenance
services, he said.
No Americans were seriously injured and, contrary to earlier
reports, no
hostages were taken, he added.
President Bush and Ereli both expressed American gratitude
for the quick
action by Saudi authorities, and Ereli said that the attack is
a reminder
that "we all have common cause in working against
terror."
Although authorities are still gathering details, Ereli
said the men
attempted to drive a vehicle onto the compound grounds and,
when stopped,
abandoned the vehicle and fought their way in using guns and
grenades.
They never entered the Consulate General building, he said,
but did inflict
significant damage to Marine Guard residential quarters.
The Marines and regional security guards took defensive
measures to protect
those in the compound and moved personnel to a reinforced,
safe area,
according to Ereli, who also noted that Consul General Gina
Abercrombie-Winstanley was "in the front lines" of
the quick response.
Press reports indicate some Saudi security forces were also
wounded in the
gun battle. Ereli said more detailed accounts would be
forthcoming as the
United States works with Saudi Arabia to investigate the
incident and
determine security vulnerabilities.
The Jeddah and Dhahran consulates and the U.S. Embassy in
Riyadh will be
closed to the public December 7, although Ereli said emergency
aid would
still be offered to Americans.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information
Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov
) |
Additional Reporting
Special
Report #1 U.S. Consulate, Jeddah Attacked
Saudi Attackers Monitored
U.S. Consulate Before Attack
![Saudi security forces respond to the Dec. 6, 2004 terrorist attack at the US Consulate, Jeddah. [Televised image]](https://www.saudi-us-relations.org/images/Specials/Jeddah2.jpg) "..Saudi
gunmen who stormed the United States consulate in Jeddah had
"scoped out" the building ahead of their carefully planned
attack, the U.S. envoy to Saudi Arabia said Tuesday. Ambassador
James Oberwetter also described a firefight at the gate before the
militants slipped in on foot behind a diplomatic car entering the
heavily fortified complex Monday.." Complete
report..
Al-Qaeda claims Jeddah
attack
"..The Saudi branch of
Al-Qaeda used an Islamist website to claim Monday's attack on the US
consulate in the Saudi port of Jeddah, stating that some assailants
had managed to flee after the operation. "Your brothers of
the squadron of the martyr Abu Annas al-Shami stormed one of the
bastions of the American crusaders in the Arabian peninsula, in
Jeddah," the statement said.." Complete
report..
US remains at risk even
under top guard
"..The attack fell
exactly a year after the Interior Ministry took the exceptional step
of listing the 26 most-wanted terrorists linked to Al Qaeda in Saudi
Arabia. In the ensuing year, about 17 of them have been captured
or killed in numerous skirmishes throughout the desert kingdom.."
Complete
report..
Prince Turki al-Faisal
comments on terrorist attacks
 "..The
latest information I have is that eight people were killed, five of
them employees of the consulate and three of them were the terrorists.
My information is that there were two wounded officers, one slightly
more difficult to wound than the other. This is as far as casualties
are concerned. I know there is a lot of confusion now as to whether
there was penetration of the consulate or not. You have to remember,
Wolf [Blitzer, CNN], that the consulate in Jeddah is a compound with
not only a wall around the compound but another security wall outside
the wall surrounding the compound. What these people did is that they
blew themselves into the first barrier wall outside the compound. As
they tried to enter the compound itself, that's where they were
engaged by Saudi security forces, and three of them were killed.
Unfortunately, five of the employees of the consulate were killed as
well.." Complete
report..
Saudi
names slain gunmen in Al-Qaeda strike on US mission
"..The
ministry identified three of the slain gunmen as Fayez bin Awwad al-Jeheni,
Eid bin Dakhilallah al-Jeheni and Hassan bin Hamed al-Hazmi, none of
whom was on a most-wanted list of suspected Al-Qaeda sympathizers
issued by authorities a year ago. "The identity of the
fourth, who is wounded, must be not be divulged for the sake of the
(public) interest, and procedures are under way to establish the
identity of the fifth person, who died in the incident," it said
in a statement said, adding that all four identified were Saudis. The
interior ministry said a Yemeni, a Sudanese, a Palestinian, a
Pakistani and a Sri Lankan were killed, although the government in the
Philippines said one of its nationals was killed and another
wounded.." Complete
report..
Saudi Arabia vows to
eradicate terrorism
"..Saudi Foreign
Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal assured the US ambassador in Riyadh
that the kingdom is determined to uproot terrorism and eradicate
terrorists.. ..al-Faisal contacted ambassador James Oberwetter
"to express sympathy with the employees of the US Consulate in
Jeddah following the terrorist attack.." Complete
report..
President Bush comments on
attack
 "..on
the incident in Saudi Arabia, I want to thank the Saudi government for
responding as quickly as they did. We send our heartfelt condolences
to the Saudi National Guard that died in the defense of our consulate.
I want to thank the Marines for doing their job so splendidly. And we
will find out more about who caused the attacks. As I understand it,
several of the attackers died, but several were captured by the Saudi
government, and I'm confident they will share the information with us.
The attacks in Saudi Arabia remind us that the terrorists are still on
the move. 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. And that's why these elections
in Iraq are very important.." Complete
report..
Related Reporting:
Resources:
|
