Two Army officers attacked near Saudi Arabia capital

By Dave Montgomery and Warren Strobel
Knight Ridder Newspapers

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Saudi police said they killed two suspected al-Qaida militants in a shootout in mountains near the holy city of Mecca. The police didn't identify the dead militants, but said they were linked to a weekend rampage in Khobar that resulted in 22 deaths, including one American. Three attackers escaped after Saudi commandos ended the 25-hour siege early Sunday.

In Washington, Saudi and U.S. officials said they were moving against al Haramain Islamic Foundation, a major Saudi charity that's suspected of funneling donations to militant Islamic movements worldwide. The Saudis said they were closing the foundation's Riyadh headquarters while the two countries asked other nations to freeze the assets of five overseas branches. The United States said it would also seek a freeze on assets belonging to the charity's former leader.

The attacks on the two U.S. officers came as al-Qaida vowed to step up its terrorist campaign against Westerners and non-Muslims in the desert kingdom.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman said one soldier was slightly wounded and the other was unhurt, though other reports said the injured man was a Saudi driver.

Neither soldier's name was released, no assailants were in custody and it remained unclear where the gunfire originated.

Most U.S. troops left Saudi Arabia last year, but a small contingent remains to help train members of the Saudi National Guard.

Little information was available about the shootout with the suspected al-Qaida militants. Saudi officials said the two men were linked to the weekend attacks but didn't indicate if they were among the three terrorists who escaped. There's been speculation that Saudis allowed the three to escape after they threatened to blow themselves up with suicide belts and kill hostages being held as human shields.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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