A U.S. soldier directs a crowd back from the site of the explosion

RIYADH , May 1 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - An American working at a Saudi naval base was shot and injured Thursday, May 1, a defense ministry spokesman said.

"An unknown person at the King Abdul Aziz naval base in Al-Jubay (on the kingdom's eastern coast) opened fire against George Babols, an American working for a company ... under contract with (Saudi) naval forces," Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted the spokesman as saying.

"Babols was taken to a hospital in the industrial city where he was in good condition," the ministry spokesman said.

He added that the gunman had fled but was being sought by security forces.

The U.S. embassy in Riyadh had warned Wednesday, April 30, that "terrorist groups may be in the final phases of planning terrorist attacks on American interests in Saudi Arabia ."

Two months earlier the United States urged all its nationals in Saudi Arabia to leave and reduced its diplomatic presence in the kingdom due to the U.S.-led war in Iraq , which was widely criticized here.

The removal of U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia , home to Islam's most sacred shrines, was the key demand of Saudi-born Osama bin Laden.

Fifteen of the 19 al-Qaeda hijackers who carried out the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were said to be Saudis.

Saudi Arabia has seen a number of mysterious explosions against Westerners.

The last was in September 2002, when a Briton and a German were killed in Riyadh .

There are about 30,000 to 40,000 Americans living and working in Saudi Arabia , down from more than 60,000 a decade ago.

The United States announced Tuesday, April 29, that it would shift its air operations from Saudi Arabia to neighbouring Qatar .

"By mutual agreement the aircraft that have been involved will be able to leave," U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in a joint press conference with his Saudi counterpart Prince Sultan.