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RIYADH,
May 20 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Citing information on
"imminent" attacks, the United States and Britain decided
Tuesday, May 20, to shut their embassies in Riyadh as of Wednesday,
while Saudi police tightened up security all over the oil-rich kingdom.
"The
embassy continues to receive credible information that further terrorist
attacks are being planned against unspecified targets in Saudi
Arabia," the U.S. embassy in Riyadh warned in a notice sent to U.S.
citizens in the country.
"In
response to information that some strikes may be imminent, the embassy
and consulates general in Jeddah and Dhahran will be closed on May 21,
2003," it said.
"Although
no decision has yet been made as to when the embassy and consulates may
reopen, it will not be prior to Sunday, May 25, as mission offices are
normally closed on Thursdays and Fridays and will be closed Saturday for
Memorial Day," said the statement.
The
American warning was followed by a similar one by Britain's Foreign
Office which announced the closure of its embassy in Riyadh, consulate
in Jeddah and trade office in Al-Khobar, reported Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
"We
have received credible information that further terrorist attacks
against unspecified targets in Saudi Arabia are being planned and may
take place imminently," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.
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"There are
still threats of terrorist operations in Saudi Arabia and in the
region," Prince Saud said
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Germany
has also decided to close its embassy in Riyadh as a precautionary
measure against possible terror attacks.
The
move came in the wake of the May 12 triple
bombings on expatriate housing compounds in Riyadh that left 34
dead, including eight U.S. citizens.
Saudi
Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal admitted Tuesday that there was
still a threat of "terrorist operations" in the kingdom and
the Gulf region.
"There
are still threats of terrorist operations in Saudi Arabia and in the
region," Prince Saud said at a press conference with his Danish
counterpart Per Stig Moeller.
"Terrorists
are deploying enormous efforts to spread terror in all the region,"
he said, vowing that Saudi Arabia was "undertaking all steps
necessary to fight terrorism and prevent new terrorist operations in the
future."
Tight
Security
In
consequence, Saudi Arabia tightened security to face up to threats of
more terror attacks amid renewed vows of determination to root out
terrorism, AFP said.
Drivers
are quizzed and vehicles examined at countless roadblocks and
checkpoints.
The
government on Tuesday urged Saudi nationals to carry their civil ID
cards at all times, saying they must be shown to officials on demand.
Armoured
vehicles with mounted machine-guns are parked outside a number of modern
residential complexes housing Westerners and concrete barriers have been
erected to ward off any more of the attacks.
Police
are also stationed at shopping malls, where all vehicles must now
undergo security screening before being allowed to use underground car
parks.
The
number of shoppers in Riyadh's main shopping centres has dropped
significantly during the past week in fear of new attacks.
Saudi
Arabia said Sunday, May 18, it had arrested four members of Al-Qaeda
network linked to the triple bombings.
Saudi
security agencies have also identified three of the bombers -- out of
nine the interior ministry had earlier said were killed in the attacks
-- as part of a 19-member al-Qaeda cell whose discovery was
announced May 7 and whose pictures had appeared in the local
press.
Authorities
said the cell had planned to carry out major attacks in the kingdom and
that security forces were hunting 17 Saudis, one Kuwaiti-Canadian of
Iraqi origin and a Yemeni.
Searches
of their hideout and car netted a huge cache of arms, including 55 hand
grenades, 377 kilograms (829 pounds) of explosive, and 2,545 bullets of
various calibres, the interior ministry said.
The
interior minister has acknowledged questioning some 700 of Saudi
Arabia's "Afghan Arabs," Saudi citizens who fought in the
Afghan war against Soviet occupation and have since returned home.
More
than 253 people remained in custody, of whom some 90 men have been
convicted of being members of al-Qaeda.
‘Major
Attack’
The
announcement follows a warning on Monday, May 19, from Saudi Arabia's
ambassador to Washington, who expressed fears a major attack is imminent
in either the U.S. or Saudi Arabia, the BBC news online reported
Tuesday.
"My
gut feeling tells me something big will happen either in Saudi Arabia or
America," Prince Bandar bin Sultan said.
He
said the U.S. and Saudi Arabia had picked up electronic
"chatter" in the region and in other areas which indicated
something else was being planned in addition to the attacks that took
place last week.
Prince
Bandar said that chatter had indicated the Riyadh attacks were being
planned but had not given information regarding a time or place.
He
said the chatter had stopped almost completely two or three days before
the attacks, the British broadcaster added.
"I'm
confident we'll get them in the end. But the question is, will it be
early enough or not?" he said.
Prince
Bandar added that a raid by authorities in the country earlier this
month had uncovered huge quantities of explosives which could have
caused even greater devastation than May 12 attacks.
"I
think they were looking to do something more major than this," he
told journalists on Monday.
"That
would have taken out two blocks in the city if it had gone off
accidentally. We're all wondering if it's the last [of the explosives]
or is it the tip of the iceberg?"
