RIYADH, 2 October — It is too early to draw conclusions on who was behind the car blast that killed a German national in Riyadh on Sunday or previous bombings in the Kingdom, Interior Minister Prince Naif said, but he ruled out Arabs and Muslims as suspects.
"I am sure most probably there are no Saudis, Muslims or Arabs involved," Prince Naif told Al-Riyadh newspaper. "This bombing and previous ones may have happened for personal reasons and no more than that," he said.
"We are still in the initial stage of investigations and need some time to uncover the truth," he added.
The minister was quoted by another Saudi newspaper as saying the bombings were not linked to terrorism.
"There is no terrorist attack on foreigners in our country and they are under our protection," he told Al-Jazirah daily.
"What happened is merely score-settling and gang wars involving trade of illicit and immoral substances," he added.
Prince Naif downplayed charges that a series of bombings targeting Westerners in the Kingdom, including Sunday’s blast, were carried out by local hard-line elements.
"These are mere fabrications. Al-Jazeera (satellite) channel (which aired the charges) is known for its ill-intentions toward the Kingdom," the prince said.
Intelligence Director Prince Nawaf denied on Monday any terrorist link to the blast and said it was part of a feud among people involved in illegal trade, a reference to alcohol.
German national W. Maxmilan Graf, 56, an employee of a private company, was killed in the capital city when an explosion ripped through his car. He had lived in Saudi Arabia for 17 years.
Deputy Governor of Riyadh Prince Sattam also rejected an anti-Western bent to the attack.
"I express my condolences to the German people," he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) on Monday night. "This was a murder and had nothing to do with politics."
Because of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s staunch opposition to an attack on Iraq, he said he doubted that Graf had been targeted on account of his nationality.
