JEDDAH, 12 September 2004 — Two small bombs left in stolen taxis exploded in Jeddah yesterday, both outside banks with foreign links. One of the alleged bombers in the incidents was injured, according to security sources.
The first of the explosions occurred at 9.30 a.m. in the Al-Bawadi district. A security source told Arab News that a stolen 2003 Camry taxi was parked outside the market where there is a branch of the Saudi American Bank. The taxi had been stolen the previous night.
The car was driven by Anwar Khaleel Abdul Rahman Al-Najjar, who was followed to the scene by his brother, driving a gray Chevrolet Caprice. A security source said: “They set off the car bomb in front of Al-Bawadi market, which also houses a Samba branch.” Soon after the blast, one security source was quoted as saying: “It does not appear to be something big or dangerous.”
Anwar, whose right hand was badly injured in the blast, was taken “under heavy guard” to the Soliman Fakih Hospital in the Al-Ruwais area of Jeddah.
His brother returned home, followed by police who by this time seem to have received accurate intelligence about his movements.
He was tailed to a small house in the back streets of Al Ruwais close to Palestine Street, only one kilometer east of the US consulate. Security forces arrested him and sealed off the area, removing the car and searching the house.
The security source said it was not clear whether the blast was a terror attack or an attempted bank robbery. Anwar was taken from the Suleiman Fakih Hospital to King Fahd Hospital where he was kept under police guard.
Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Mansour Al-Turki later confirmed that “a limited” blast had occurred around 9 a.m. inside a taxi cab while it was on a Jeddah street. “Police have captured the car’s driver whose hand was injured in the blast, and he was taken to hospital,” he said.
The spokesman did not say how many suspects were inside the car. He pointed out that “the arrested person was wanted in eight cases related to drug abuse.” Security agents have mounted an investigation of the incident, Brig. Turki said.
Arab News spoke with an emergency room doctor at Soliman Fakih Hospital. He said: “The man was a Saudi in his forties. He came in under heavy guard to be treated for an injury to the hand. His injuries were not serious, and therefore he was transferred to King Fahd Hospital, where there is a prison ward.”
The second car bomb exploded outside the recently completed flagship branch of the Saudi British Bank on Jeddah’s fashionable Tahlia Street later in the day. At 2:20 p.m., while the bank was closed, a second Camry taxi exploded in the car park outside the private banking section of the bank. Only four meters from the entrance, it did no structural damage but severely damaged the taxi. The adjoining mall also escaped damage.
According to La Promenade II mall security, the taxi had been in the car park between the mall and the bank since morning, but had drawn no special attention. “When the explosion occurred, I immediately thought it was a bomb,” said Eslam Zawawi, a supervisor for La Promenade II. “It was loud and the windows vibrated from the shock. No damage was done, but it was alarming.”
Arab News learned from two sources that the detained suspect had a record of drug dealing. Al-Ekhbariya news channel also reported that the suspect in police custody had eight prior drug convictions. They added that the incidents, which took place outside high profile British and American banks on the third anniversary of the Sept.11 attacks on US cities, are criminal in nature and unrelated to terrorism.
On Friday, security officials defused explosives outside the security patrol building in Al-Mualimeen district in the Eastern city of Hofuf, Al-Watan newspaper reported. Authorities enforced strict security in the early hours of dawn on Friday after a loud explosion was heard just outside the compound wall around the headquarters. Several explosives were found in the subsequent search.
Security personnel immediately arrived on the scene and bomb disposal squads were notified to inspect the area. It took the squad several hours to defuse the explosives. However, there was no loss of life or material damage.
