Al-Qaeda claims Jeddah attack

2004-12-07 07:14

Dubai - The Saudi branch of Al-Qaeda used an Islamist website to claim Monday's attack on the US consulate in the Saudi port of Jeddah, stating that some assailants had managed to flee after the operation.

"Your brothers of the squadron of the martyr Abu Annas al-Shami stormed one of the bastions of the American crusaders in the Arabian peninsula, in Jeddah," the statement said.

"They were able to withdraw from the consulate and reach a safe place, after losing two martyrs who covered the retreat of the mujahedeen, three of whom were wounded and are being treated," said the statement signed by the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Arabian Peninsula.

Gunmen stormed the consulate on Monday, triggering a bloody three-hour siege and a shootout that left five staff and four attackers dead, Saudi officials said.

The brazen attack was the first of its kind on a diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia but the latest in a series of bombings and shootings blamed on Al-Qaeda in the oil-rich desert kingdom since May 2003 that have often targeted foreigners.

The attackers raided the Red Sea beachfront consulate compound in broad daylight in a hail of bullets and explosions that set off a fire and sent black smoke billowing into the sky.

- AFP