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| Tuesday, 7 December 2004 |
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Eight killed in attack on US mission in Jeddah JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Monday (Reuters) Muslim militants stormed the heavily fortified U.S. consulate in Jeddah on Monday, killing five non-American staffers, before Saudi forces shot dead three attackers and captured two to regain control. It was the first major militant assault in Saudi Arabia since May. The bloodshed in the Red Sea port indicated that the fight against Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network in the world's biggest oil exporter is far from over. President George W. Bush said the attack showed that "the terrorists are still on the move" and linked them to insurgents in Iraq, where violence threatens elections set for January. "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, kill innocent people. That's why these elections in Iraq are very important," Bush said. A State Department official, who asked not to be named, said some Americans had been lightly wounded. "No assailants remained on the loose. They have either been killed, captured or cornered," he added. Witnesses said the militants had hauled down the U.S. flag and burned it after bursting into the mission. A Saudi security official said the militants entered the compound through a side door where mail is delivered, but the U.S. official said at least some had used the main entrance. "They entered the main gate. It is not clear whether it was a bomb or they just sort of fired their way in," he said. He denied reports the gunmen had taken hostages. "That idea may have arisen due to the use of the safe haven," he said, referring to a fortified area to which the Americans had fled. In the kingdom's last big attack, militants struck at oil companies and a housing compound in the eastern city of Khobar in May. At least 22 foreigners and seven security men died. Gunmen have killed several individual foreigners since then, while Saudi forces have hit back with a crackdown that has killed or captured some leading militants. The Saudi government condemned the Jeddah attack and, in a statement carried by state news agency SPA, vowed to "hunt down terrorists until we uproot them and cleanse society of them". The U.S. embassy in Riyadh and missions in Jeddah and Dhahran shut down after Monday's attack and an embassy statement said the missions would remain closed to the public on Tuesday. "American citizens in Saudi Arabia are strongly urged to exercise utmost security precautions," it said. While the assault was under way, thick smoke rose from the complex in central Jeddah. Security forces sealed off the area as helicopters flew overhead. Bursts of gunfire sounded as National Guards tackled the attackers. |
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