WORLD
THE BATTALION
5A
Thursday April 22, 2004
ar bombing kills at least four in
audi capital, al-Qaida implicated
By Abdullah Al-Shihri
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP)
A suicide attacker bombed a
[ecurity police building in the
jiaudi capital Wednesday, killing
least four people and wound
ing 148. The attack had the hall
mark of an al-Qaida operation,
Ifficials said.
The explosion, heard three
hiiles away, shattered the glass
jacades of nearby buildings and
united several fires. Smoke bil
lowed from the seven-story
ieneral Security building,
k'here workers issue drivers
ficense renewals and do other
Idministrative tasks.
The headquarters of the Saudi
Security Forces used to be in the
[niilding. Some security forces
work in part of the building,
[Saudi official said, speaking on
(ondition of anonymity.
The bombing happened about
p.m., a time when staff would
|ave been leaving their offices.
A woman who lives nearby,
bnan Batteesha, said that after
jie explosion, “We heard wails
Ind cries, then saw our neighbors
pining down the stairs.” She
lushed out with her two children.
“The fronts of the buildings
[round us were damaged. The
|ir conditioners were mangled,
[nd there was smoke every
where,” she said.
The Interior Ministry said
he assailant tried to drive his
lehicle into the General
[ecurity building.
“The driver exploded the
lai ' 100 feet from the head-
x \ W v.v>
X
Deadly bombing in capital city
A suicide car bomb blasted the General Security building in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia Thursday, killing 4 people, wounding 148 others. The
building houses traffic headquarters and some security officials.
Diplomatic
district
Driver exploded
bomb 100 feet
from the gate
General Security
buildinc
SAFARAT
NASSIRIYAH
2 mi
2 km
SOURCE: Saudi Interior Ministry
quarters’ gate, the ministry said
in a terse statement.
Five other vehicles were
apprehended with explosives,
the Saudi official said.
No Americans were hurt in
the bombing, said U.S. Embassy
spokeswoman Carol Kalin. Half
an hour after the attack. Deputy
U.S. Secretary of State Richard
Armitage met with Foreign
Minister Saud al-Faisal at the
Foreign Ministry.
Crown Prince Abdullah and
Interior Minister Prince Nayef vis
ited the wounded in the hospital.
“I am sorry that those prirpi-
nals are Muslims,” Nayef told
reporters. He said Saudis should
not cooperate or sympathize with
militants “because those who do
will be considered criminals.”
“The terrorists are not target
ing foreigners; they are targeting
the nation,” Nayef said.
The General Security service
has been heavily involved in the
campaign against Islamic mili-
AP
tants that followed the suicide
attacks in May and November
2003 in Riyadh.
Those attacks, also vehicle
bombs, killed 51 people includ
ing the assailants. They were
blamed on al-Qaida, which car
ried out the Sept. 11 attacks on
the United States.
A U.S. counterterrorism offi
cial, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said the attack has
the hallmark of Osama bin
Laden’s al-Qaida network and
appears to be related to the ter
rorist group. Al-Qaida, the offi
cial noted, has previously used
car bombs in Riyadh.
The Saudi official agreed that
Wednesday’s attack fit al-
Qaida’s pattern.
The attack came days after
the United States ordered the
departure of nonessential U.S.
government employees and
family members from Saudi
Arabia. The U.S. Embassy in
Riyadh issued an advisory warn
ing of “credible indications of
terrorist threats aimed at
American and Western interests
in Saudi Arabia.”
Last month, an Internet mes
sage purportedly from al-Qaida
threatened Saudi security offi
cers, saying that to attack them
“in their homes, or workplace,
is a very easy matter.”
Saudi police said last week
end that they seized three booby-
trapped Sport Utility Vehicles
loaded with more than four tons
of explosives. The vehicles had
apparently been abandoned by
militants involved in a shootout
with security forces.
There were conflicting
accounts on the death toll from
Wednesday’s attack.
The Interior Ministry said
four were killed: two police offi
cers, an adult and an 11-year-old
Syrian girl. But the ministry’s
statement did not include the sui
cide bomber, whose death was
reported to The Associated Press
by a security official speaking on
condition of anonymity.
Officials from the three hospi
tals that admitted casualties said
at least nine people were killed.
The Interior Ministry said
148 people were wounded, three
critically, according to the offi
cial Saudi Press Agency.
The casualty tolls could rise
as rescue workers were still
going through the rubble late
Wednesday. Most of the casual
ties at King Faisal Specialist
Hospital were police, but there
were also four children, said hos
pital spokesman Fahd al-Shaar.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Pentagon: Iraq war running over budget,
[aces $4 billion shortfall
WASHINGTON (AP) — Increased violence in Iraq is pushing the cost of
fie war over budget, possibly by as much as $4 billion by late summer,
Jetop U.S. military, officer said Wednesday. And billions more will be
reeded for the rest of the year.
(Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the
ncent decision to extend the stay of some 20,000 troops will cost rough-
I) $700 million more over three months. The White House is keeping
men the possibility it will seek additional funds before the end of this
ection year.
The war is costing an estimated $4.7 billion a month, officials said,
lefense officials are studying their current budget, which runs through
spt. 30, to determine whether some money can be moved from pur-
ciase programs or other Pentagon accounts, Myers said.
Lawmakers expect to have a defense bill in place by the time the new
Jidgetyear begins Oct. 1. But the version President Bush proposed had
i money for U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nevertheless, leg-
jlators say the Pentagon could use money from that bill until extra
Joney for the war is provided.
(White House officials have already said they would propose a separate bill
(ter this fall’s elections — costing up to $50 billion — to pay for the two wars.
Support in Congress growing for lower-cost
prescription drugs from Canada
WASHINGTON (AP) - Support for legalizing lower-cost prescription
drugs from Canada is growing, in .Congress amid an election-year
clamor.from states,’lawmakers'and the elderly. •' .
The White House and Republican congressional leaders remain
opposed, saying there is no way to ensure safety.
Nonetheless, proponents contend that public frustration with rising
drug prices and growing defiance of a federal ban on prescription
imports will force action before the November elections.
The latest legislation to allow Americans to fill their prescriptions in
Canada was introduced Wednesday by a diverse group of Republican
and Democratic senators.
It would eventually allow drugs to be imported from 20 industrial
ized countries, mainly Europe.
Several cities and states facing budget crises already have turned to
Canada to buy prescription drugs for workers or made it easier for
residents to hook up with Canadian Internet pharmacies.
Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed in a recent AP poll said the gov
ernment should make it easier to buy cheaper drugs from Canada or
other countries.
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