U.S. consulate in Saudi Arabia attacked, at least 12 killed

12/6/2004 9:16:00 PM GMT

A group of armed men stormed the heavily fortified U.S. consulate in Saudi Arabia port; Jeddah on Monday and 12 people died in gunbattles before Saudi forces regained control.

Also car bomb exploded outside the U.S. consulate, injuring several people.

According to witnesses, clouds of heavy smoke were seen rising from the area in the latest attacks targeting buildings that house Westerners in the kingdom.

Four of the attackers were holed up inside the building where a gunbattle raged and continued for nearly an hour after the initial explosion, Saudi security forces said.

Witnesses said that they heard bursts of gunfire and saw two plumes of smoke rising from the building, as helicopters hovered overhead. They added that the Saudi forces sealed off the area.

At least 200 Saudi police and National Guard soldiers are reported to have been deployed in the area.

Officials said it was possible hostages were inside. the U.S. embassy.

According to a Saudi health official, many people injured in the blast were escorted to a hospital in Jeddah, but none were Americans.

Saudi officials did not comment on the blast, also no militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Al-Arabiya satellite television reported that four attackers in a car tried to storm the building, but the car exploded in front instead.

"We can confirm there has been an attack on the consulate," U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Carol Kalin, in Riyadh said. "The incident is still in progress with Saudi emergency forces securing the compound."

She added that there was no word on American casualties.

One witness at the scene told reporters that smoke was rising from the area while police trying to keep cars and traffic away. Other witnesses said that gunfire was heard shortly before the blast.

"I heard a heavy exchange of fire," one bystander told reporters. Several further rounds of shooting could be heard.

"We have an emergency case," an official inside the building told reporters. He gave no details. Alarms could be heard sounding from inside the consulate.

"The embassy in Riyadh and the missions in Jeddah and Dhahran have been closed as a precaution. We are still trying to gather information," Kalin said.

"The magnitude of this assault on the consulate has taken all Jeddah residents by surprise," Khaled al-Maeena, the editor of Arab News located in Jeddah, said.

Saudi authorities have stepped up security around the consulate since a series of bombings in 2003, mainly targeting buildings that house foreigners.