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Saudi bombing strikes near royalsâ homes
We said that last night... Extracts only...
Interior Minister Prince Nayef and some other Saudi royals had private homes near the compound. "It was about half a mile from one of the houses of Prince Nayef," a diplomat said on Sunday. The diplomat said the compound might have been chosen as a "soft target" after a recent tough crackdown by security forces.
| Here's the significant part... |
Leading Saudi dissident Dr Saad al-Faqih agreed that this was likely, blaming the kingdomâs authorities for provoking violence.
âBy closing the small margin for (political) expression, the state has done nothing to prevent attacks,â he told Aljazeera.net. âEvery citizen has become a victim of this massive security campaign.â
| "So what else could we... uhhh... they do?" |
He claimed that the clampdown, with attacks on peaceful demonstrators and widespread searches by security forces, had built-up resentment among ordinary people.
| ... most of whom own explosives and enjoy blowing up Lebanese... |
âThose who want to protest against the regime are left with two choices, obedience or violence,â he said.
| "Both are Islamic, of course, but violence is more Islamic." |
He conceded that al-Qaida â the only group capable of such an attack, he said â did not represent ordinary Saudisâ wishes by targeting soft targets, such as Western and expatriate compounds, rather than regime symbols. Witnesses said there was heavy gunfire when the bombers drove two apparently explosives-packed cars into the complex, which had security guards. One resident said most of the people living in the compound were Lebanese, Egyptians and Syrians. "This is a crime against innocents which is in the style of al-Qaida. It is an al-Qaida operation," a Saudi security source told Reuters. "This is a suicide operation."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-11-09 |
