Raid Qusti, Riyadh Bureau Chief

RIYADH, 9 November 2003 — Terrorists struck in the heart of the capital late last night, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

At least one, and perhaps as many as three, explosions rocked a residential compound in western Riyadh. Eyewitnesses reported one big explosion, followed by two smaller ones 15 seconds apart. Smoke could be seen rising from the area of the blast. The streets were crowded when the blasts took place with late-night shoppers because of Ramadan.

At least 50 people were injured in the explosion. “So far there are 50 injured,” Health Minister Hamad Al-Manie told Saudi TV.

“They are in hospitals all over the capital,” he added.

A US Embassy spokesperson said the attack targeted the B2 compound, which is in the Nakheel neighborhood near the Muhaya shopping center. It is a residential compound, which houses mainly Saudis and a few foreigners, mostly Italians and Germans. The compound comprises 200 villas.

Rabie Hadeka, a resident inside the targeted compound, told Al-Arabiya TV that “about 20 to 30 people have been killed and 50 to 60 injured.”

A US official was quoted by Fox News as saying that up to two dozen people were killed.

“Around 10 buildings collapsed and shattered glass was spread everywhere after we heard three very strong explosions,” Hadeka told Al-Arabiya in a telephone interview.

“A huge explosion blew out the windows. I saw a lot of people injured and I believe there are a lot of people dead,” Bassem Al-Hirani told Al-Arabiya.

The Interior Ministry confirmed the blasts at Al-Muhaya compound. “A terrorist bombing occurred at the Al-Muhaya residential compound west of Riyadh tonight,” said a ministry spokesman.

Residents reported having heard gunshots being fired before and after the blasts. A large fire was raging in the affected compound.

“We heard a very strong explosion and we saw the fire,” Bassem Al-Hourani, who said he was a resident at the targeted compound, told Al-Arabiya.

“I heard screams of the children and women. I don’t know what happened to my friends or whether any of them was injured,” he said. “All the glass in my house was shattered.”

Ali, a Saudi national, was out on Takhassusi St. purchasing roasted coffee for his home when he heard a massive explosion followed by the building shaking like an earthquake. “I immediately came out to see my family who were in the car and very upset. Everybody was running out of shops and the storekeepers were locking their doors and pulling down their shutters. I saw police cars driving toward the Makkah Highway. I tracked them and found that about 15 police cars had closed the access to the Diplomatic Quarters. I doubled back and that’s when I saw the huge cloud of smoke about 5 kilometers from the gates to the DQ. I dropped my family at home and tried to go out again to Panda superstore near King Faisal Specialist Hospital to get groceries but was turned away.”

About two dozen ambulances were seen racing toward the scene, sirens wailing. Special security forces were out in the streets in full force and had ringed the Diplomatic Quarters. Traffic was tied up across the city.

Police said the explosions were five kilometers (three miles) from one of the entrances to the capital’s Diplomatic Quarters.

Emergency was declared in all Riyadh hospitals. Hospital sources reported receiving up to 30 victims.

Rescue efforts were hampered by a mass of curious onlookers who rushed to the scene. Police were seen using force to disperse them.

The blast occurred nearly six months after triple suicide bombings at Riyadh housing compounds on May 12 killed 35 people, including nine Americans. Saudi Arabia blamed these explosions on the Al-Qaeda network. Diplomats estimate there are about 35,000 US and up to 30,000 British citizens in the Kingdom.

The US Embassy in Riyadh said Friday it had received “credible information that terrorists in Saudi Arabia have moved from the planning to operational phase of planned attacks in the kingdom.”