Dec. 8, 2004
By DONNA ABU-NASR
News My Way
Photo: Lebanese Latif Abu al Husn rests in bed Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2004, at the King Fahd hospital in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, whilst he tells reporters how he survived Monday's terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Jiddah. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Survivors of a deadly militant attack on the U.S. consulate said they fell to the floor and tried to hide after hearing gunshots and seeing men carrying weapons in the inner courtyard of the compound, known as one of the most secure in this Red Sea port city.
Attackers believed linked to al-Qaida burst into offices on Monday, shouting: "Where are the Americans?" One survivor said consular employees were rounded up and used as human shields when Saudi forces stormed in and engaged the assailants in a fierce gunbattle.
The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and a consular office in the eastern Saudi Arabian city of Dhahran reopened Wednesday, embassy spokeswoman Carol Kalin said, two days after the attack that showed how vulnerable even the most guarded site is in Saudi Arabia despite a crackdown on terror.
U.S. officials have warned more attacks in the kingdom are possible.
Lying in hospital beds, wounded consulate workers on Tuesday provided new details about the violence, which killed five employees and four of the attackers, and injured at least 10.
The five slain consulate employees were from Yemen, Sudan, the Philippines, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
One of the wounded employees, Salah Abdel Qawi Alyafiee of Yemen, said the militants first stormed into the consulate courtyard, then held people as human shields as Saudi forces rushed in and engaged in a fierce gunbattle.
Photo: U.S. Consul General in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley surrounded by guards as she walks in for a press conference Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2004, following Monday's terrorist attack. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)
"Each one of the terrorists took a group of us and they started shooting at the (Saudi) guards," he said. "And thanks to God, the Saudis did not shoot at random. They aimed at the terrorists."
Alyafiee, who works as a dispatcher, said he kneeled down as the firing began, then was shot.
"I don't know whose bullet hit me," he said. "I was on the floor and my face was to the floor."
He said the attackers were Muslims, as is he, and shouted "God is great," as they rushed in. "These people are lost," he said sorrowfully, lying in his hospital bed with his left arm in a thick white cast. "They don't know anything about their religion."
Others said the attackers burst into a guardhouse looking for Americans after first entering the courtyard.
"They shot our door and they went into our office," said Abbel Gaber, a Sri Lankan man who had been hired by a local guard company. "They asked us, 'Where are the Americans?' We said, 'We don't have any Americans.'"
The attackers stayed inside the office, shooting occasionally until Saudi forces arrived and a gunbattle began, Gaber said. He was hit from behind and fell down, waking later to see two dead men nearby.
Journalists were not allowed inside the compound, located in the heart of Hiddah and surrounded by 10-foot-high walls.
U.S. Ambassador James C. Oberwetter said Tuesday the consulate would open for business in a few days. Saudi troops could be seen inside the compound, on rooftops and on nearby streets.
The militants "clearly understood how cars entered the compound, and they were conducting surveillance," Oberwetter said. He contended security measures had largely worked because the attackers' car could not get past the consulate gate, forcing them to enter the grounds on foot. The attackers also never made it to the main consulate buildings, where most Americans worked.
Still, as Oberwetter offered condolences to the families of five victims, he said, "The events of yesterday show the need for improvement. We will examine what additional steps need to be taken."
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli warned that there could be more attacks in Saudi Arabia.
"Our operating assumption is that there are still terrorist elements active in the kingdom, targeting U.S. citizens and facilities, as well as other commercial and civilian establishments," Ereli said. "Therefore, maximum alertness and caution and prudence is called for.
To bolster diplomatic security, Defense Department officials said a Marine Corps anti-terror team would go to Jiddah.
U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide rely almost exclusively on host-nation soldiers and police or private security guards to guard their outer walls. Inside, security is provided by U.S. Marines and federal civilian officers.
Saudi officials, meanwhile, said four of the assailants were Saudis and one remained unidentified.
None of the three identified by name - Fayez bin Awad al-Juhaini, Eid bin Dakhil Allah al-Juhaini and Hassan bin Hamid al-Hazimi - appeared on the kingdom's list of 26 most-wanted militants. Saudi officials did not say whether the al-Juhainis were related, or provide details about them.
Attacks on Western targets in Saudi Arabia started in 2003, when car bombs hit three compounds housing foreign workers in Riyadh. Since then, the government has cracked down on Islamic militant cells and charities suspected of funneling money to terrorists.
------
Associated Press reporters Faiza Saleh Ambah and Hasan Jamali in Jiddah contributed to this report.
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2004/12/06/story179161.html