RIYADH, 25 October — Are they serious anthrax attacks, or just harmless white powder being used as the basis of a series of sick practical jokes? We still do not know. What is known is that a number of government departments and individuals have been receiving suspicious mail from abroad, and that all have so far tested negative.

“We have received several envelopes over the past few days that contained white powder. They were sent from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia and Europe,” an Interior Ministry official who declined to be named told Reuters yesterday.

“However, we have analyzed the contents and all that we have received so far contains nothing harmful,” he said, adding that the envelopes had not been addressed to specific individuals but to ministries and departments.

Health Minister Dr. Osama Shubokshi yesterday allayed fears of a possible anthrax outbreak in the Kingdom by confirming there were no confirmed anthrax

cases. In a press statement, he said the Health Ministry, in coordination with other government departments, is nevertheless taking the issue seriously and would be prepared in the event of any emergency.

The postal department also confirmed yesterday that it had not received letters or parcels that contained anthrax spores. The department said it had taken precautionary measures to protect the postal staff.

Dr. Yaaqub Al-Mazroue, deputy health minister for preventive medicine, said the result of laboratory tests on a parcel suspected of containing anthrax spores would be announced today.

The parcel that arrived at the Rowda Post Office, east of Riyadh, from Indonesia on Tuesday, is being analyzed by an expert panel. The Rowda post office had received another suspicious parcel from India.

Shayie Al-Mesaar, who handed the Indonesian parcel to the post office director, said he had received the letter on Monday. The letter in English addressed to one of Mesaar’s employees. The family name of the addressee was spelled incorrectly, and there was no return address.

Shubokshi said 13 people from a factory in the industrial city in Jeddah underwent preliminary tests for anthrax after handling a parcel. The tests have so far come back negative, but the next 24 hours will prove crucial.

A citizen in Riyadh who reported that a parcel containing a white powder in his mailbox said it had arrived from India with two other letters addressed to his Indian housemaid. The maid said the package did not belong to her, though, so the man handed the parcel to police, Al-Watan said.

Post office employees in Riyadh have been instructed to take extra caution, and should wear masks while sorting letters.

Dr. Mazroue urged the public to be cautious about parcels without clear addresses or that are unusually large.

Shubokshi meanwhile confirmed that the Kingdom has a stock of two million tablets containing the anthrax anti-biotic.

Saudi Arabia is the third Gulf country after Bahrain and Kuwait to be hit by the worldwide anthrax scare, following transmission of the disease through suspect mail which has killed three in the United States.

Mesaar said he received a harassing telephone call from a senior postal official, who grilled him for having delivered the suspicious parcel. The official also accused Mesaar of talking to the media.