Saudi anger at UK travel warning

27 October 2003
Riyadh reacted angrily on 25 October to a travel warning issued by London to all UK nationals in and travelling to the kingdom because 'terrorists may be in the final phases of planning attacks'. Saudi ambassador to the UK Prince Turki al-Faisal said that officials in Riyadh would have wanted to know in advance about any warning published. 'The kingdom wishes that when such advice is given by sources outside the kingdom that there would be co-ordination between the people giving the advice and the [Saudi] authorities,' he said on 25 October.

Prince Turki's statement came soon after the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) issued a written warning advising British nationals against 'all but essential travel to Saudi Arabia'. A statement from US authorities in the kingdom echoed that of the UK. 'It is the embassy's assessment that terrorist groups may place special operational significance in the upcoming month of Ramadan and American citizens are therefore urged to be particularly vigilant during this time.' Media reports indicated that a large-scale attack similar to that of the suicide bomb attacks on three expatriate housing compounds in Riyadh on 12 May, which killed at least 34 people, was in its final stages of planning.

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