RIYADH, 9 October — Saudi Arabia cannot confirm or deny if Saturday’s bomb blast which killed an American and another foreigner is related to the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States, the interior minister was quoted as saying yesterday. "We cannot deny or confirm if the Alkhobar blast is related to the latest events in the world, or to the previous blasts in Riyadh and the Eastern Province," Prince Naif told Okaz Arabic daily.
"It is premature to talk about the details," he added. The minister said Saudi security authorities had given utmost priority to the bomb attack, which also injured four expatriates.
The authorities were still trying to identify the badly-mutilated second person who died in the blast in the eastern city of Alkhobar, site of the 1996 truck bomb attack that killed 19 US servicemen. "No one had been arrested in connection with the explosion, but a number of people have been questioned," Prince Naif said.
Al-Watan newspaper quoted witnesses as saying that the blast appeared to have been caused by a suicide bomber who was killed instantly. However, there has been no official confirmation.
