lucky wilbury
06-12-2004, 07:08 PM
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5196406/
American killed, one missing in Saudi Arabia
Islamist Web site claims man was kidnapped
Updated: 6:20 p.m. ET June 12, 2004
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh said on Sunday an American citizen was missing in Saudi Arabia after an Islamist Web site said he had been kidnapped.
Another U.S. national was shot dead in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday in the third attack on Westerners in a week, adding to security fears in the world’s biggest oil-producer.
The U.S. embassy spokeswoman said on Sunday: “We received a report that an American citizen is missing and we are working with the local authorities to find him.”
She said the kidnapping claim had appeared on a Web site a short while ago. No further details were immediately available.
Police on Saturday also found a car rigged with explosives in a suburb of the capital, Saudi-owned television station Al Arabiya said. It was not immediately clear whether there was any link between the discovery and the late-afternoon killing.
Witnesses said the American was shot as he parked his car in front of his villa in the suburb of Malazz.
Saudi-born Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida, blamed for the September 2001 attacks on U.S. cities, has vowed that 2004 would be “bloody and miserable” for Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally.
Fears affect oil prices
Fears about the security situation in the world’s biggest oil exporter helped push world oil prices to record highs earlier this month before producers pledged to hike output.
Arabiya said police were chasing suspects in the east of the city after Saturday’s killing.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department said the man’s identity was still not known. Washington has urged its citizens to leave Saudi Arabia.
“Those Americans who choose to remain here should exercise the utmost caution as they go about their daily lives,” U.S. Ambassador to Riyadh, James Oberwetter, said in a statement.
Arabiya gave no details about the discovery of the car bomb, but witnesses saw a car which police were preparing to tow away after cordoning off an area of north Riyadh where an Islamic university is located. Two residential compounds are nearby.
On Tuesday, a U.S. military contractor was shot dead at his house in Riyadh in the fifth attack on Westerners in the kingdom since early May. On Sunday a BBC cameraman was killed and a correspondent wounded in a drive-by shooting in Riyadh.
In one of the biggest attacks, 22 civilians were killed when suspected al-Qaida militants went on a May 29 shooting spree and took dozens of foreigners hostage in the oil city of Khobar.
Saudi officials have so far remained silent on what measures they have taken to safeguard foreigners from militant attacks.
The attacks have heightened fears among tens of thousands of expatriates and raised doubts over the grip of security forces.
An estimated six million foreigners work in Saudi Arabia, including 35,000 Americans and 30,000 Britons.
The Persian Gulf state, the birthplace of Islam, has been fighting militants for a year, arresting and killing many, including eight on a wanted list of 26 militants. Riyadh says the militants are going for soft targets after the clampdown.
American killed, one missing in Saudi Arabia
Islamist Web site claims man was kidnapped
Updated: 6:20 p.m. ET June 12, 2004
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh said on Sunday an American citizen was missing in Saudi Arabia after an Islamist Web site said he had been kidnapped.
Another U.S. national was shot dead in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday in the third attack on Westerners in a week, adding to security fears in the world’s biggest oil-producer.
The U.S. embassy spokeswoman said on Sunday: “We received a report that an American citizen is missing and we are working with the local authorities to find him.”
She said the kidnapping claim had appeared on a Web site a short while ago. No further details were immediately available.
Police on Saturday also found a car rigged with explosives in a suburb of the capital, Saudi-owned television station Al Arabiya said. It was not immediately clear whether there was any link between the discovery and the late-afternoon killing.
Witnesses said the American was shot as he parked his car in front of his villa in the suburb of Malazz.
Saudi-born Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida, blamed for the September 2001 attacks on U.S. cities, has vowed that 2004 would be “bloody and miserable” for Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally.
Fears affect oil prices
Fears about the security situation in the world’s biggest oil exporter helped push world oil prices to record highs earlier this month before producers pledged to hike output.
Arabiya said police were chasing suspects in the east of the city after Saturday’s killing.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department said the man’s identity was still not known. Washington has urged its citizens to leave Saudi Arabia.
“Those Americans who choose to remain here should exercise the utmost caution as they go about their daily lives,” U.S. Ambassador to Riyadh, James Oberwetter, said in a statement.
Arabiya gave no details about the discovery of the car bomb, but witnesses saw a car which police were preparing to tow away after cordoning off an area of north Riyadh where an Islamic university is located. Two residential compounds are nearby.
On Tuesday, a U.S. military contractor was shot dead at his house in Riyadh in the fifth attack on Westerners in the kingdom since early May. On Sunday a BBC cameraman was killed and a correspondent wounded in a drive-by shooting in Riyadh.
In one of the biggest attacks, 22 civilians were killed when suspected al-Qaida militants went on a May 29 shooting spree and took dozens of foreigners hostage in the oil city of Khobar.
Saudi officials have so far remained silent on what measures they have taken to safeguard foreigners from militant attacks.
The attacks have heightened fears among tens of thousands of expatriates and raised doubts over the grip of security forces.
An estimated six million foreigners work in Saudi Arabia, including 35,000 Americans and 30,000 Britons.
The Persian Gulf state, the birthplace of Islam, has been fighting militants for a year, arresting and killing many, including eight on a wanted list of 26 militants. Riyadh says the militants are going for soft targets after the clampdown.