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Explosion Reported Near US Consulate in Saudi Arabia
| Wall Street Journal | - |
DUBAI,
United Arab Emirates—State-linked Saudi news sites reported a suicide
bomber carried out an attack near a U.S. diplomatic site in the Red Sea
city of Jeddah.
Suicide Bomber Killed Near U.S. Consulate in Saudi Arabia
No motive was given for attack in Jeddah
A suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt near a U.S. diplomatic
site in the Red Sea city of Jeddah early Monday, the Saudi Arabian
government said.
Only the attacker was killed in the explosion, although two members of the Saudi security forces were lightly injured in the attack, which was also near a hospital parking lot, the interior ministry said.
The security forces suspected there was something wrong when they saw the man around 2:15 a.m. local time, a spokesman for the interior ministry said in a statement. “When they attempted to stop him and verify and deal with the situation accordingly, he detonated an explosive belt he was wearing.”
No motive was given for the attack. An investigation is under way, the ministry said.
The U.S. State Department said it was aware of the explosion and was working with Saudi authorities to gather more information, a spokesman said.
The U.S. Consulate General building in Jeddah, located in the usually busy Al-Hamra neighborhood, was opened in 1952. In 2004, the site was the scene of a militant attack by al Qaeda that left nine people dead.
Write to Ahmed Al Omran at Ahmed.AlOmran@wsj.com
Only the attacker was killed in the explosion, although two members of the Saudi security forces were lightly injured in the attack, which was also near a hospital parking lot, the interior ministry said.
The security forces suspected there was something wrong when they saw the man around 2:15 a.m. local time, a spokesman for the interior ministry said in a statement. “When they attempted to stop him and verify and deal with the situation accordingly, he detonated an explosive belt he was wearing.”
No motive was given for the attack. An investigation is under way, the ministry said.
The U.S. State Department said it was aware of the explosion and was working with Saudi authorities to gather more information, a spokesman said.
The U.S. Consulate General building in Jeddah, located in the usually busy Al-Hamra neighborhood, was opened in 1952. In 2004, the site was the scene of a militant attack by al Qaeda that left nine people dead.
Write to Ahmed Al Omran at Ahmed.AlOmran@wsj.com
