BBC- Blast in Saudi capital

[MaineDem]

An explosion has shaken the Saudi capital Riyadh but the cause of the blast is still unclear.
/snip/
Arabic television Al-Arabiya reported that the blast was near a security forces building.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3646195.stm

[Roon]

1. Link

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4795433/

[leftchick]

2. Here is a link...

Not much yet...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=2&u=/ap/20040421/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saudi_explosion


Explosions Heard in Saudi Capital
5 minutes ago


RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Loud explosions were heard Wednesday the Saudi capital, witnesses said.

The explosions came from the vicinity of the General Security building, which is affiliated to the Interior Ministry, in al-Nassiriyah neighborhood in central Riyadh, the witnesses said.

A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the explosions but did not provide details.

[maddezmom]

3. CNNI- 6 bombs found, 5 diffused - 6th exploded

blast near Information Ministry, Security Offices

the 6 bombs found in different locations throughout the city.

6th was car bomb, 1 dead, 1 wounded.

[truthisfreedom]

4. oh man.

what is next?

[MaineDem]

5. BBC has changed the headline

And remember this? "Last week the United States ordered all non-essential diplomatic staff to leave Riyadh."

BBC TV News now reporting 10 are presumed killed.

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. Before Bu$h we had a terrorist attack

every few years. Now we have terrorist attacks every day.

But they keep telling us we are winning the war on terrorism?

[maddezmom]

8. The world is "safer"

now that Saddam has been captured. Safer for who? :eyes:

[maxsolomon]

19. don't you know we're smoking them out?

get it all over at once!

uh-huh.

[maddezmom]

7. CBS~Threat To U.S. In Saudi Arabia

CBS/AP) A terrorist-related threat against the United States Embassy in Saudi Arabia prompted the ambassador there to order non-essential staff and their families out of the country, a State Department official said Thursday.

CBS News Reporter Charles Wolfson says senior officials in Washington have yet to decide on the request by Ambassador James Oberwetter.

The terror warning was only the latest in a string of alerts issued by Western governments to citizens living or visiting in Saudi Arabia, which is in a precarious position in the war on terrorism. It is a close U.S. ally, but also was home to 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers, leading some to question the Arab kingdom's commitment to fighting militants.
~snip~
more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/21/terror/main612905.shtml

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. Sounds like stage 2 of the PNAC plan

is kicking into high gear. Destabilization of the Middle East is well under way.

[maddezmom]

10. 'Terrorist' Car Bomb Kills at Least 10 in Saudi

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4893469

[maddezmom]

11. updated Reuters link

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4894155

[SharonAnn]

22. Most of them were pre-schoolers in a school van going to school

Isn't that great?

Not only killing civilians, but killing 3-5 year olds.

[dArKeR]

12. Bomb leaves bodies scattered - News24

Riyadh - A car bomb exploded outside the headquarters of the Saudi general security services in Riyadh on Wednesday killing and wounding many people, according to a correspondent.

The correspondent saw numerous dead and wounded as thick smoke poured from the front of the seven-storey building, which is part of the security headquarters in the capital's Al-Washm district.

The vehicle exploded at a protective barrier outside the HQ, shattering windows in the surrounding area.

Security forces sealed off the area as ambulances wailed.

Crown Prince Abdullah vowed on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia remained determined to confront "terror", following repeated clashes between security men and Islamic militants, and the discovery of five car bombs in the kingdom in the past week.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1515592,00.html

[G_j]

13. NYT Security Building in Saudi Capital Is Destroyed by Bombs

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/21/international/middleeast/21CND-SAUD....

April 21, 2004

Security Building in Saudi Capital Is Destroyed by Bombs
By TERENCE NEILAN

suicide car bomber blew off the front of a security office building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, today, witnesses told Reuters and a local English-language newspaper.

At least 10 people were killed, the newspaper and Reuters said, citing witnesses. The death toll was expected to rise.

Dozens were reported wounded in what a Saudi Interior Ministry official described as a "terrorist attack."

The official, who was not identified, told Reuters that a car packed with explosives blew up in Al Murabaa district.

Ambulances rushed to the scene and local residents said they saw many bodies being loaded into them.

Smoke billowed from damaged buildings in the area, which also houses the state television offices and the Interior Ministry, Reuters reported.

The attack happened on the second day of a four-day international conference on terrorism, which opened in Riyadh with a call for peace and tolerance, the newspaper, The Saudi Gazette, reported on Tuesday.

Terrorist activity in the Riyadh region in recent days has left six security officers and one militant dead, the newspaper said.

..more..

[Athame]

14. Security office building

would that be similar to our FBI?

Interesting that we have not heard much about a four-day international conference on terrorism...:shrug:

[Carni]

15. Probably one the Saudis arranged

Have you ever noticed that everytime Saudi gets their ass in a sling in the US media that they have a bombing (to remind us "That they face the same dangers we do and we are in this together")

I have noticed this repeatedly and I think they are full of crap...
the house of Saud probably planned the damned thing.

[lumpy]

20. " the house of Saud probably planned

the whole thing". I think you are wrong. It doesn't make sense. The Saudi monarchy has been in trouble for some time because of the Saudi's strong connections with the Bush cabal. This is a struggle for power within Saudi Arabia. It may be hard to believe that there are Saudi's that would like a more democratic secular government, but it is not impossible to imagine.

[lumpy]

16. Guess some Saudis

don't care for the idea that Prince Bandar was in on the Bush cabal plan to invade Iraq.

[RetroLounge]

21. That's what I was thinking too...

eom

[maddezmom]

17. 2 car bombs exploded according to AP

~snip~
``The explosion resulted from two car bombs that were parked about 50 feet from the building,'' a police official told The Associated Press. He said ``a number of charred bodies'' were carried away from the scene.

Staff at three hospitals said nine people were killed, including policemen and civilians, and 125 were wounded. The hospital officials spoke on customary condition of anonymity.

~snip~
General Security oversees officers who investigate burglaries and murders, direct traffic and perform other basic police duties. Such officers have been on the front lines in a Saudi crackdown on Islamic militants, manning checkpoints as part of stepped up security and occasionally engaging in fire fights with suspects.

Last month, a purported al-Qaida message appeared on the Internet threatening Saudi police, members of the intelligence forces and other security agents. The message said targeting Saudi security agents ``in their homes or workplace is a very easy matter.''

~snip~
more: http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/Intl/AP.V6716.AP-Saudi-Explosion.html?urcm=y

[maddezmom]

18. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in SA today

The blast, which coincided with a visit to the city by a top U.S. official, tore the front off the six-storey administrative block. ~snip~
Saudi television showed uniformed security force personnel in hospital and said some children were also injured.

The kingdom, a key U.S. ally and the world's largest oil exporter, is battling a tide of Islamist militancy linked to Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, which Washington accuses of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on U.S. cities.

Last year, suicide bombs killed 50 people in Riyadh.

Last week, Washington ordered non-essential diplomats out of the Gulf state and warned Americans they should leave, citing fresh signals of possible attacks on U.S. and Western interests.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage held talks Wednesday with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. They discussed Iraq and bilateral ties, which have been strained after the September 11 attacks carried out by mainly Saudi hijackers.

~snip~

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4895547

[question everything]

23. According to ABC News report

the bomb was carried by those who want a "regime change' in the kingdom, to remove the monarchy.

Still waiting for those who would try to link Israel into this one, too..