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Saudi Officials Concerned About Chance of Another Terrorist Attack
Aired May 20, 2003 - 05:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Saudi officials are concerned about the chance of another terrorist attack, a much bigger operation than last week's Riyadh bombings. The investigation into those attacks goes on, with assistance from the FBI.
CNN's senior international correspondent, Sheila MacVicar, has the latest for you from Riyadh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After concerns were raised about the degree of cooperation between FBI agents and their Saudi counterparts here on the ground in Saudi Arabia, a U.S. official in Riyadh on Monday made clear that the FBI was very happy with the cooperation they had received here, saying that they have been warmly welcomed by their Saudi counterparts and were fully participating in the investigation into those triple attacks last week.
Concern came about after the Saudi interior minister had seemed to suggest over the weekend that FBI participation in the investigation would be limited to an observer role, something that raised the specter of past difficulties between Saudi and American investigators, and a problem which clearly the U.S. sought to avoid again this time.
One week on, it seems that progress is being made in the investigation, but very slowly. The Saudis say they have four men in custody who they said have prior knowledge of the attacks, did not participate in them and are being linked by the Saudis to al Qaeda. If it is true that they are linked to al Qaeda, that would be the clearest evidence of such a link to emerge so far.
In addition to that, it has become clear that not all of those who participated in last week's attack died in those attacks. It's believed that between four and perhaps eight, perhaps just a few more men managed to escape. There is a manhunt under way and that is one of the reasons why the threat level in the kingdom remains so high.
Sheila MacVicar, CNN, Riyadh.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Terrorist Attack>
Aired May 20, 2003 - 05:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Saudi officials are concerned about the chance of another terrorist attack, a much bigger operation than last week's Riyadh bombings. The investigation into those attacks goes on, with assistance from the FBI.
CNN's senior international correspondent, Sheila MacVicar, has the latest for you from Riyadh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After concerns were raised about the degree of cooperation between FBI agents and their Saudi counterparts here on the ground in Saudi Arabia, a U.S. official in Riyadh on Monday made clear that the FBI was very happy with the cooperation they had received here, saying that they have been warmly welcomed by their Saudi counterparts and were fully participating in the investigation into those triple attacks last week.
Concern came about after the Saudi interior minister had seemed to suggest over the weekend that FBI participation in the investigation would be limited to an observer role, something that raised the specter of past difficulties between Saudi and American investigators, and a problem which clearly the U.S. sought to avoid again this time.
One week on, it seems that progress is being made in the investigation, but very slowly. The Saudis say they have four men in custody who they said have prior knowledge of the attacks, did not participate in them and are being linked by the Saudis to al Qaeda. If it is true that they are linked to al Qaeda, that would be the clearest evidence of such a link to emerge so far.
In addition to that, it has become clear that not all of those who participated in last week's attack died in those attacks. It's believed that between four and perhaps eight, perhaps just a few more men managed to escape. There is a manhunt under way and that is one of the reasons why the threat level in the kingdom remains so high.
Sheila MacVicar, CNN, Riyadh.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Terrorist Attack>
