The US consulate in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah, which was stormed by extremists in a deadly attack in December, reopened for business Saturday, the American embassy in Riyadh said. Visa seekers from the western region of the kingdom were flocking lined up early Saturday at the consulate gates, the embassy said in a statement. Five non-American consular staff members and contractors were killed in the storming of the consulate on December 6 which also left four gunmen dead. The attack, claimed by Al Qaeda's Saudi branch, was the first on a diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia but one of a string of bombings and shootings in the kingdom which have killed more than 100 people and wounded hundreds more since May 2003. Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden paid tribute to the militants who attacked the consulate in an audiotape attributed to him 10 days after the assault.
| No video, unfortunately, since he's residing in a cave in Tora Bora. |
US embassy spokeswoman Carol Kalin said at the time of the attack that her government had no immediate plans to relocate the beachfront mission after reports of a Saudi request for moving the consulate to a more secure place. |