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By FAIZA SALEH AMBAH
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - An apparent car bomb exploded outside the heavily guarded U.S. consulate in Jiddah on Monday, injuring several people, and Saudi Arabian security forces said four attackers seized an unknown number of hostages inside the building amid a gunbattle.

American officials said no U.S. casualties were reported after the car exploded just in front of the consulate, located in the city's heart near the Red Sea coastline in the latest strike against Western targets in the kingdom.

A Saudi health official said on condition of anonymity that several people injured in the blast were taken to a hospital in Jiddah, but none were Americans.

Saudi officials had no immediate comment on the blast and nobody claimed responsibility. But Saudi officials have blamed al-Qaida operatives for the string of attacks that have hit the kingdom in the past two years.

Saudi security forces said they believed there were hostages being held inside the U.S. consulate but numbers were unknown. Four attackers remained in the compound where a gunbattle continued more than an hour after the initial blast, according to other Saudi security forces, speaking on condition of anonymity.

U.S. Embassy officials could not be reached for confirmation of that report.



"The power to Destroy the planet, is insignifigant to the power of the Air Force----Mudd Vader

Update...

Looks like they didn't get any hostages, thankfully...

Blew away three bandits and captured some others.

From BBC online

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Gun battle at US Jeddah mission

Smoke could be seen rising from the US consulate
At least seven people are reported to have died after gunmen stormed the US consulate in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
The Saudi interior ministry said three gunmen were killed and two more arrested as security forces gained control of the compound.

Officials said four Saudi troops were killed in the fighting.

In a statement, the ministry said the gunmen threw explosives at the main gate of the consulate from a car and then entered the compound.

Flames and smoke could be seen rising from the area.

Eyewitnesses at the scene report ambulances ferrying injured people from the complex.

Saudi security officials said two security guards at the gate of the consulate were wounded, one of them seriously, after the attackers opened fire on them before entering the mission.

A number of national guardsmen are said to have been injured in the subsequent assault.

All Americans who were at the consulate are reported to be safe, but the fate of a number of consulate staff who were reportedly taken hostage is unknown.

Correspondents say security around the consulate has been extremely tight since a series of bombings by Islamist militants in Saudi Arabia began in 2003, mainly targeting buildings that house foreigners.

They add that the attack must have been very well planned, given the security measures.

'Deviant group'

"A gang affiliated to the deviant group (Islamist militants) hurled explosives at the gate of the US consulate in Jeddah at 11am (0800 GMT) on Monday, and then entered the area surrounding the consulate," said the interior ministry statement, which was carried by the official Saudi Press agency.

"Security forces dealt with them immediately and brought the situation under control. Three of the attackers were killed and two were arrested after they were wounded. The authorities concerned are following up the incident."

Carol Kalin, a spokeswoman for the US embassy in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, said two local staff members had been injured. It is unclear if she was referring to the two security guards who were fired on.

"We have accounted for all Americans on the compound in Jeddah and none of them are being held hostage," she said.

"We have a local workforce that was on duty, and we are still in the process of accounting for them."

The embassy and the mission in Dhahran had been closed as a precaution following the Jeddah attack, she added.

Previous operations targeting Western interests have been blamed on groups inspired by Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, which wants to drive all non-Muslims out of the kingdom.

The last major attack was in May, when gunmen attacked oil companies and a housing compound in the eastern city of Khobar. Twenty-two foreigners and seven Saudi security men were killed.


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