The State Department says U.S. diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia will reopen Saturday after closing for security reasons November 7, the day before a deadly car bombing in Riyadh that killed 17 people. The Saudi government meanwhile is vowing an all-out drive against terrorism.
Officials say the U.S. embassy in Riyadh and consulates in Jeddah and Dahran will reopen for normal operations Saturday, but a public advisory urges U.S. citizens in Saudi Arabia to maintain a low profile and avoid places where westerners congregate.
The missions closed last Friday because of what was termed credible information that terrorists were preparing to strike, though U.S. officials said the information was not specific enough to prevent the car bomb attack the next day on a housing complex for mainly Arab foreigners in Riyadh.
At a Washington news conference, Saudi spokesman Adel al-Jubeir said his government is closely cooperating with the United States and is determined to crush terrorist factions.
"If the intention of the terrorists, much less, is to destroy the Saudi state, they will not succeed. We will fight them with everything we have until we crush them," he warned.
Mr. al-Jubeir said the anti-terrorism struggle could be a long one, but that there can be no doubt about the outcome.