Homeland Security

DATE=11/14/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=SAUDI ARABIA/BOMBINGS (L-O)

NUMBER=2-309846

BYLINE=LAURIE KASSMAN

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: In the wake of last week's bomb attack against a mostly Arab-neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia says it will fight Islamic extremists on its soil with an "iron fist." The U-S Embassy in the Saudi capital, which had closed a day before the attack for security concerns, is resuming business. Correspondent Laurie Kassman has more from Washington.

TEXT: Saudi Foreign Affairs Advisor Adel al-Jubeir says the government will show no mercy in its battle against al-Qaida terrorists, he says are trying to destabilize the Kingdom.

/// AL-JUBEIR ACT ///

We will fight them with everything we have, until we crush them. King Fahd has vowed to strike with an iron fist. The Crown Prince has declared total war on them.

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Al-Jubeir says more than 600 suspects have been arrested during the past several months, and dozens of terrorist cells have been destroyed.

But, Mr. Al-Jubeir told a news conference the danger still persists. He does not rule out more attacks in the future.

///START OPT /// Saudi officials say security is being tightened for the holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan at the end of November and for the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, which will begin in a few months. /// END OPT ///

The Saudi official says Saudi and U-S cooperation on intelligence did provide indications of an imminent attack, but not a specific location. Mr. Al-Jubeir says, days before the attack, Saudi security forces broke up a terrorist cell in Mecca.

/// Al-JUBEIR ACT TWO ///

We knew an attack was coming. We knew the timing of the attack within days and that is what happened. But what we didn't know, we meaning Saudi Arabia and the United States, is what the target would be.

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Al-Jubeir does not rule out the possibility the terrorists targeted a mostly-Arab housing compound in Riyadh last weekend by mistake, assuming it was inhabited by Westerners. Several years ago, a U-S company housed its American and European employees there.

/// OPT THE REST /// As part of the campaign against terrorism, the Saudi official says, his government is receiving cooperation from U-S occupation forces in Iraq to bolster border patrols along Iraq's border with Saudi Arabia, to prevent arms smuggling into the Royal Kingdom. Mr. Al-Jubeir says Saudi security has been intensified along the border with Yemen too, to prevent the infiltration of weapons and militants. (SIGNED)

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