Saudi security defuses bomb at telecommunications office in Riyadh

Saudi Arabia's security sources defused a bomb placed in a special office for telephone communications in the capital, Riyadh.

Citizens said that the bomb was found in a telephone center, adjoining the fuel station in Sultana street, in al-Sweidi area, to the south west of Riyadh.

The security forces besieged the center before the bomb was defused. The citizens said that the security forces mopped up the area in search of suspected persons.

In recent months, al-Sweidi quarters witnessed breaking in operations carried out by the security forces in search of wanted individuals. The last of these operation was the one led to the killing of Ibrahim al-Rayes, one of the Saudi 26 wanted persons on December 8th, 2003.

The kingdom, however, is in a state of alert, since the attack which targeted on May 12, 2003 an attack at residential units inhabited by foreigners in Riyadh and this resulted in killing 35 persons including 8 Americans. Riyadh witnessed a similar attack on November 8th, 2003 resulted in killing 17 persons.