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| Arabia |
| Bombs Defused In Jeddah |
| 2003-03-09 |
| Saudi Bomb disposal experts removed 16 sticks of dynamite set to blow up a shopping center in the heart of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's commercial capital. The dynamite was laid at three emergency exits of the upmarket Al-Mihmal center and wired to timers due to go off at 9:00 am (0600 GMT) Saturday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Asharq al-Awsat as saying. All four floors of the center and an adjacent nine-storey office block were evacuated after the explosives were discovered an hour earlier by a security employee on his rounds, the pan-Arab daily added. Security sources told the daily that "amateurs" appeared to have laid the dynamite. Amateurs with 16 sticks of dynamite... Investigators were checking security cameras and questioning all employees of the center in the Red Sea port city, but no arrests had been made or lines of inquiry disclosed. The security cameras... Nice touch, that. Wonder if the amateurs realized they were there? The Al-Mihmal center is one of the most luxurious in Jeddah and is one of the usual stop-offs for VIP visitors guided by government officials. The last high profile guest was Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and ex-U.S. President Ronald Reagan was the first, the Saudi-owned daily said. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #2 The Saudis say it was a hoax. Of course, the Saudis also claim that all of the mysterious bombings inside the kingdom that only target Westerners are the result of some insidious alcohol smugglers that no one ever manages to actually catch. |
| Posted by: Dan Darling 2003-03-09 14:41:55 |
| #1 BBC says the sticks of dynamite story's a hoax |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-03-09 10:43:04 |