A Suicide Bomber Has Blown Himself Up Near a U.S. Consulate in Saudi Arabia

A suicide bomber died after detonating an explosive device close to a U.S. consulate in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on the morning of July 4.

The BBC reports that the blast injured two security guards, who had approached the man in the parking lot of the Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital, opposite the fortified consulate building. A spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry said the man “blew himself up with a suicide belt inside the hospital parking [area]” at 2:15 a.m. local time.

The U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia issued a statement saying there were no casualties or injuries among consulate staff from the attack in the early hours of America’s Independence Day. It warned citizens in the country to limit nonessential travel. “All U.S. citizens are encouraged to remain aware of their surroundings, and take extra precautions when traveling throughout the country,” it said.

The consulate in the Red Sea city of Jeddah came under attack in December 2004, when Islamist militants armed with explosives and automatic weapons fought their way into the compound and took hostages, before security forces ended the siege. Four security guards and five members of the consulate were killed in that attack.

[BBC]