RIYADH, 8 August 2005 — The US Embassy in Riyadh and its consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran will be closed today and tomorrow due to terrorist threats against the missions’ buildings in the Kingdom, the US Embassy announced here yesterday. Last week, these missions were closed for three days on account of the demise of King Fahd.
In a warden’s message issued yesterday, the US Embassy advised all its citizens that its three missions in the Kingdom will remain closed in response to a threat against US government buildings in the Kingdom. It has also requested personnel working in its missions to limit their non-official travel during this period.
However, a Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman said the Kingdom had no solid information of any threat of terrorist attacks inside the country.
“We have no confirmed information about any imminent terrorist threat in the Kingdom. We are taking all necessary security measures to confront any possibility,” said Gen. Mansour Al-Turki.
The warden’s message said that in the past, terrorist groups have targeted housing compounds and other establishments where Westerners may be located. “Saudi government facilities have also been targets. In addition to car bombs and armed assaults involving multiple gunmen against such facilities, terrorists have used ambush attacks to kidnap and/or assassinate individual Westerners.”
The mission has urged US citizens in the Kingdom to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness. They are further advised to exercise caution and maintain good “situational awareness” when visiting commercial establishments frequented by Westerners or in primarily Western environments; keep a low profile, varying times and routes for all required travel; and ensure that travel documents and visas are valid.
This warden’s message is the latest in a series of messages stating that there are indications of operational planning for terrorist attacks in the Kingdom. Three weeks ago, US military personnel stationed in the Kingdom suspended all non-duty related leisure travel outside of their work or housing stations due to the potential for terrorist attacks.
Yesterday, however, it was business as usual at the US Embassy. James C. Oberwetter, the US ambassador, followed his regular schedule in his office and even met a visiting British journalist at four in the afternoon, just an hour before the warden’s message was issued. Security arrangements outside the embassy looked the same as on other days.
Outside the US Consulate in Jeddah, traffic flowed smoothly last night and there was nothing out of the ordinary. “There was nothing to suggest that anything had changed or there was any threat,” said one longtime Jeddah resident.
In March this year, US citizens living in Jeddah were warned of an elevated threat level in the area of the Sierra Village compound. American officials relocated themselves to alternate housing as a result of that advisory.
Last year, the three US missions were closed on Dec. 6 and 7 due to an armed attack against the US Consulate in Jeddah. In 2004, a few Westerners were killed in a spate of terrorist attacks in major cities in the Kingdom. However, the majority of the victims in those attacks were Asians and Arabs.
