Saudi king vows 'iron fist' against Riyadh bombers ( 2003-11-11 08:59) (Agencies)
Saudi Arabia's King Fahd
vowed on Monday that his country would strike with an "iron fist" against
suspected Islamic militants behind a bombing that killed at least 18 people in
the capital Riyadh at the weekend.
The warning came as a senior U.S. official said the al Qaeda network was
trying to topple the Saudi royal family and the pro-Western government of the
world's biggest oil exporter.
A cabinet statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency said the king
told ministers that Riyadh would "strike with an iron fist whoever tries to
violate the security of the country or its stability and the safety of its
citizens and residents."
"(King Fahd) emphasized the will to confront terrorism and deal forcefully
with such criminal and wicked acts and to get at criminals who commit such acts
and whoever is behind them," the agency said.
Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network is suspected of staging the
suicide attack on Sunday that killed at least 18 people and wounded 120 in
Riyadh. In May, a triple suicide bombing on a housing complex in Riyadh killed
35 people.
"It is quite clear to me that al Qaeda wants to take down the royal family
and the government of Saudi Arabia," U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard
Armitage told Al Arabiya television.
A witness said Saudi rescuers pulled one more body from the rubble on Monday,
bringing the toll to 18 killed.
A compound resident said the two attackers used a car with military markings
to get past a checkpoint outside the compound. When they reached the main
entrance they shot a security guard and one other man, an Indian.
Armitage said Sunday's attack was shocking but noted Saudi security forces
had gone on the offensive since May.
"So from our point of view, the authorities are working 24/7 to try to better
the situation," he said, noting the difficulty was that the defenders must "be
right 100 percent of the time and the terrorists only have to be right once."
Washington has been pressing Saudi Arabia to combat al Qaeda, believed
responsible for the attacks on U.S. cities on September 11, 2001. Fifteen out of
the 19 attackers were Saudis.
Saudi officials, along with Washington, blamed al Qaeda for the attacks in
which bombers posed as police and blew up an explosives-rigged car in the Muhaya
compound in Riyadh.
TIGHTER SECURITY
Security has been stepped up for diplomats and on Western residences in
Riyadh. Many compounds for expatriates, who hold key jobs in the kingdom's oil
industry and military programs, already resemble army camps from the outside.
Ringed by up to 50 soldiers from Saudi Arabia's national guard, the
compounds' high perimeter walls are topped by razor wire, surrounded with
concrete blocks and monitored by closed circuit television. Some have machine
guns at the gate and armored vehicles covered by netting near the entrance.
Armitage, who arrived in Riyadh on Sunday, told reporters: "I can't say that
last night's attack was the only or the last attack. My view is these al Qaeda
terrorists -- and I believe it was al Qaeda -- would prefer to have many such
events."
The blast came only days after Western nations issued fresh terror alerts and
Washington shut its missions in the kingdom.
Western embassies in Saudi Arabia urged their nationals to remain vigilant
after the attacks.
The U.S. embassy said in an advisory on Monday it and the consulates in the
kingdom will remain closed to the public until further notice, pending further
security assessment.
It however relaxed its restrictions on movement, saying its personnel and
their dependants in Riyadh "are no longer confined to the diplomatic quarter and
may move about Riyadh."