Up to 10 Killed By Riyadh Car Bomb
VOA News
21 Apr 2004, 15:37 UTC
Reports from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, say up to 10 people have been killed by a car bomb explosion outside a Saudi security service building.
Officials say that a senior security officer was among those killed. Reports say at least 60 people were injured, with some in critical condition.
Witnesses and officials say the blast was the work of a suicide bomber who drove a car packed with explosives up to the building's perimeter and set them off.
The explosion tore away the front of the five-story General Security building, leaving inside rooms exposed and burning. The bomb went off at a time when many workers would have been inside.
Television pictures showed that the explosion damaged other buildings in the area and also destroyed a number of cars.
Saudi authorities have fought a running battle with Islamic extremists over the past year. Saudi police say that in the past week alone they have seized and defused five other car bombs.
The U.S. embassy had warned of possible terrorist attacks in the kingdom, and last week the State Department ordered all non-essential U.S. diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia because of security concerns.
Last year, Riyadh suffered two major suicide bombings that killed more than 50 people.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.
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