(Independent-UK) Mark Hollingsworth - The Saudi royal family and its National Guard is being sued for alleged negligence and inept security by the victims of an al-Qaeda suicide bombing which killed 35 people and injured 200 at a housing compound in Riyadh in May 2003. The victims, former military trainers of the Vinnell Corporation, will claim this week in U.S. District Court in Washington that the terrorist bombing was unchallenged because of non-existent security measures by the Saudis, despite repeated and detailed warnings by Robert Jordan, then U.S. ambassador in Riyadh, that Islamic militants were planning an attack. They allege the compound was not monitored by security cameras; the National Guard officers were unarmed; clear signals of an attack were ignored; security was not upgraded after the warnings; and security assessments were never conducted. The lawsuit comes after revelations last year that the al-Qaeda terrorists were secretly assisted by members of the Saudi National Guard before the bombing.
2005-05-09 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive