A security specialist at Jamal Jaroudi Est., a leading security firm here, described as “inadequate” the status of the security apparatus in the 150 compounds, 80 of which were owned by a high profile Saudi dignitary. One of his compounds was also targeted by the suicide bombers.

The specialist said the owners of these compounds only went for “nominal security” to address the concerns of the mostly Western expatriates living there. The owners cut corners to save cost, he said. In some cases, they made security a “shared business” with the multinational companies which accommodate their executives in the compounds.

“They never really went for a full and comprehensive security audit as their prime objective was to economize on security. Accordingly, what they have installed is a basic security system, which is not strong enough to survive a real threat. We have been advising the owners of these compounds not to look at security as a burden. But they did not take us seriously.”

He pointed out that in the US such security systems were fully computerized, leaving nothing to chance. “The computer will do an analysis for you. There they have a buffer zone with a zigzag path to control the speed. An electronic camera is also installed nearby. Any incoming car that exceeds a speed limit automatically activates the electronic camera, which takes a photograph of the car’s registration number.

It then flashes the data to the computer terminal, which in turn activates the tire killers embedded in the driver’s path, puncturing all the tires. All this paraphernalia is five to six times costlier than the conventional set-up,” he added.

He said compounds spend on average SR30,000-SR40,0000 on routine security maintenance, while a state-of-the-art system is five to six times costlier. When it comes to the crunch, cheap security outfits became highly vulnerable to a terrorist attack, he said.

Meanwhile, Western airlines have reported heavy bookings for American and European destinations in the wake of the suicide attacks in the capital. A random check with some airlines and travel agents revealed that all flights were fully booked for the next few weeks.

Chris Phipps, country manager of British Airways, told Arab News from Jeddah that there had been an increase in bookings in the wake of the suicide bombings in Riyadh.

However, the flight frequency remained the same, with three weekly flights from Riyadh and four from Jeddah.

A spokesman for Air France told Arab News that all their flights were running full. Some 50 American nationals left last night by an Air France flight en route to various destinations in the US.