THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 27, 1996 TAG: 9606270430
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
DATELINE: DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA LENGTH: 138 lines
One day after the deadliest terror attack against Americans in the Persian Gulf, U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher visited wounded survivors Wednesday and surveyed devastation that stretched for blocks.
Saudi Arabia's King Fahd offered condolences to the United States and a $2.7 million reward for those responsible for the explosion of a truck filled with 2 1/2 tons of explosives, which killed at least 19 Americans and wounded hundreds.
Chunks of concrete from the eight-story building, mattresses and shattered glass littered the military housing area where two men parked the truck bomb Tuesday night.
Saudi security forces cordoned off the bomb scene Wednesday to allow rescue teams and investigators to search the wreckage. In Washington, flags were lowered to half-staff at the White House, and the order was given to do the same at U.S. installations worldwide. In Richmond, Gov. George F. Allen ordered all state flags in Virginia flown at half-staff until sundown Sunday to honor the victims.
Witnesses compared the building's shattered facade to the gouged-out front of the Oklahoma City federal building, ripped open in a truck bombing last year.
U.S. officials said Tuesday's blast left 270 people injured, all Americans, but Saudi officials said 386 were injured, including 147 Saudis. The Pentagon initially reported 23 people were killed but later lowered the total to 19.
The Air Force was expected to begin evacuating the less seriously wounded victims today to a base in Ramstein, Germany, said Tech. Sgt. Jim Duvall, a spokesman there.
President Clinton ordered an FBI team to the site. But he was awaiting reports from U.S. commanders before considering whether to visit the scene, White House press secretary Mike McCurry said.
``Anyone who attacks one American attacks all Americans,'' Clinton said Wednesday. ``We will not rest in our efforts to find whoever is responsible for this outrage, to pursue them and to punish them.''
Tuesday's attackers apparently were spotted moments before the blast, but there was not enough time to completely evacuate two nearby apartment buildings.
A U.S. airman in an observation tower had reported a suspicious fuel truck stopped outside the compound, about 35 yards from the nearest building. When a Saudi officer approached, two men jumped out and drove off in a white car, a senior Defense Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The bomb went off minutes later, at 10:30 p.m.
At a Pentagon briefing, Army Gen. James H.B. Peay, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command, told reporters that the bombing might have been even more devastating but for precautions by U.S. and Saudi forces and the quick actions of personnel on hand.
After a bombing last fall in Riydah, the Saudi capital, American forces took more than 20 steps to increase security in and around their base at Dhahran. ``We've always been vigilant, in my view,'' Peay said.
The truck bomb went off outside the compound, roughly 35 yards from the closest structure, an eight-story apartment building for American troops. A fence kept the truck from getting closer; offering further protection just inside the fence was a line of concrete barriers like those used to block off lanes of interstate highways under repair.
The blast carved out a crater about 85 feet across and 35 feet deep, Peay said. Despite the distance from the truck to the apartment building, the force of the explosion was sufficient to rip the outside wall off the building.
Peay said the bodies of the 19 Americans killed in the explosion will arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware at midday today. If necessary, some of the 64 personnel hospitalized because of injuries suffered in the bombing will be evacuated today to medical facilities in Europe or the United States.
Peay said that the wounded are being treated at hospitals in the Dhahran area and that officials are satisfied with the quality of their care.
Peay said the explosion ``caused some slight degradation'' in the level of U.S. air patrols over southern Iraq, but he insisted that there had been no opportunity for Iraq to take advantage of the situation by moving military equipment or personnel closer to Kuwait or Saudi Arabia.
The Americans based in Dhahran and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf region are assigned to enforce United Nations resolutions that bar Iraqi air traffic south of the 32nd parallel. The restriction keeps roughly one-third of Iraq off-limits for much of the country's military.
Peay said the number of sorties being flown by Air Force F-15 and F-16 attack jets will gradually increase over the next several days until it returns to the pre-bombing level.
Meanwhile, the Navy said there are no plans to move additional ships into the area to bolster the American presence. The United States has not had an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf since mid-May, but 12 other ships were there Wednesday, including four destroyers armed with Tomahawk missiles.
Another 12 ships, including the carrier Carl Vinson, were operating in the Red Sea or the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, putting them within easy reach of the Persian Gulf should there be additional trouble.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blast and neither American nor Saudi officials have provided any significant details about the attackers.
``It indicates there is some terrorist group targeting Americans in the kingdom. But beyond that, it is pure speculation,'' said a Pentagon official, who had accompanied the U.S. secretary of state. Christopher was already in the region to encourage Arab-Israeli peace talks.
The Pentagon official said he could not rule out foreign involvement in Tuesday's attack. There are no known terrorist groups operating in Saudi Arabia.
It was the most deadly terrorist blast involving Americans in the Middle East since the 1983 barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed 241 American servicemen. MEMO: This story was compiled from reports by The Associated Press and
staff writer Dale Eisman. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
A U.S. soldier wipes his eyes while others talk in front of a
bomb-shattered building in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia's King Fahd offered condolences to the United States
and a $2.7 million reward for those responsible for the explosion of
a truck filled with 2 1/2 tons of explosives, which killed at least
19 Americans and wounded hundreds.
Graphic
BOMB CASUALTIES
The Air Force on Wednesday began releasing the names of
individuals identified as having died in the Dhahran bombing.
The names of the dead are:
Master Sgt. Michael G. Heiser of Palm Coast Fla., based at
Patrick Air Force Base in Florida.
Master Sgt. Kendall K.J. Kitson of Yukon, Okla., based at Eglin
Air Force Base in Florida.
Technical Sgt. Thanh V. Nguyen of Panama City, Fla., based at
Eglin Air Force Base.
Technical Sgt. Patrick P. Fennig of Greendale, Wis., based at
Eglin Air Force Base.
Staff Sgt. Kevin J. Johnson of Shreveport, La., based at Patrick
Air Force Base.
Sgt. Millard D. Campbell of Angleton, Texas, based at Eglin Air
Force Base.
Airman First Class Peter J. Morgera of Stratham, N.H., based at
Eglin Air Force Base.
Airman First Class Justin R. Wood of Modesto, Calif., based at
Patrick Air Force Base.
Capt. Christoper J. Adams of Massapequa Park, N.Y., based at
Patrick Air Force Base.
Capt. Leland T. Haun, hometown not released, based at Patrick Air
Force Base.
KEYWORDS: TERRORISM SAUDI ARABIA FATALITIES
INJURIES U.S. AIR FORCE by CNB