Al Qaeda claims killing of American in Saudi Arabia

12.30pm

RIYADH - Al Qaeda claimed on Sunday the killing of an American and the kidnapping of another in Saudi Arabia to "avenge US mistreatment" of Muslim prisoners in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, according to an Islamist website.

In a statement posted on Sawt al Jihad Islamist website, they identified the kidnapped American as Paul Marshal Johnson from New Jersey, born on May 8, 1955, and a specialist in Apache helicopters. They said he was kidnapped on Saturday.

"The Mujahidoun were able in the same operation to kill another American working as a manager in the military sector. They stalked him and then they killed him in his home," the statement signed by "al Qaeda Organization in the Arabian Pensinula."

A US embassy spokeswoman said on Sunday: "We received a report that an American citizen is missing and we are working with the local authorities to find him."

Police also on Saturday found a car rigged with explosives in a suburb of the capital, Saudi-owned television station Al Arabiya said. It was not immediately clear whether there was any link between the discovery and the late-afternoon shooting.

Witnesses said the American was shot as he parked his car in front of his villa in the suburb of Malazz. "There were bullet holes in the rear window of the car and the driver's window was also shattered," one witness said.

A US embassy spokeswoman said: "The victim is believed to be an American male. There has been a shooting death."

Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda, blamed for the September 2001 attacks on U.S cities, has vowed that 2004 would be "bloody and miserable" for Saudi Arabia, a key US ally.

Fears about the security situation in the world's biggest oil exporter helped push world oil prices to record highs earlier this month before producers pledged to hike output.

Arabiya said police were chasing suspects in the east of the city. The Interior Ministry confirmed the victim was American.

In Washington, the US State Department said the man's identity was still not known. "We're investigating the circumstances with the Saudis," official Adam Ereli said.

Washington has urged its citizens to leave Saudi Arabia.

"Those Americans who choose to remain here should exercise the utmost caution as they go about their daily lives," US ambassador to Riyadh, James Oberwetter, said in a statement. He lauded the kingdom's "determination" to combat militants.

RIGGED CAR

Arabiya gave no details about the discovery of the car bomb, but witnesses saw a car which police were preparing to tow away after cordoning off an area of north Riyadh where an Islamic university is located. Two residential compounds are nearby.

On Tuesday, a US military contractor was shot dead at his house in Riyadh in the fifth attack on Westerners in the kingdom since early May. On Sunday a BBC cameraman was killed and a correspondent wounded in a drive-by shooting in Riyadh.

In one of the biggest attacks, 22 civilians were killed when suspected al Qaeda militants went on a May 29 shooting spree and took dozens of foreigners hostage in the oil city of Khobar.

Saudi officials have so far remained silent on what measures they have taken to safeguard foreigners from militant attacks.

The attacks have heightened fears among tens of thousands of expatriates and raised doubts over the grip of security forces.

An estimated six million foreigners work in Saudi Arabia, including 35,000 Americans and 30,000 Britons.

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah vowed on Saturday that militants would not escape justice. "There is no doubt the devil is driving them and they are supported by those against Islam," he said in comments on official news agency SPA.

The Gulf state, the birthplace of Islam, has been fighting militants for a year, arresting and killing many, including eight on a wanted list of 26 militants. Riyadh says the militants are going for soft targets after the clampdown.

- REUTERS