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Officials: Attacks possible in Kenya, Philippines, Malaysia
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In the wake of Monday's deadly bombings in Saudi Arabia, U.S. officials say intelligence suggests additional terror attacks are possible soon in Kenya and Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines and Malaysia. The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Malaysia on Wednesday warning of possible attacks like the one last year in Bali, Indonesia, on locations where Westerners congregate. The October 12, 2002 nightclub attacks killed 202 people, including seven Americans. A November 28, 2002 suicide bombing at the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, killed 10 Kenyans and three Israelis. In the Philippines, the threat deals with a Muslim guerrilla insurgency, said the officials who also believe Saudi Arabia could again be a potential target. Monday's attacks killed 25 people, including eight Americans, when suicide bombers set off three blasts almost simultaneously at compounds housing Westerners in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. Nearly 200 people were injured, 17 of them Americans. Nine suspected bombers also died in the attacks. A senior Bush administration official told CNN Wednesday that deputy national security adviser Steve Hadley traveled to Saudi Arabia last Saturday and, after sharing U.S. intelligence, asked Saudi officials to immediately improve security at at least one of the Riyadh compounds bombed earlier this week. The shared intelligence suggested a terrorist attack was imminent and Hadley requested "a strong visible security presence" designed to deter any such strikes, the official said. The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, acknowledged that a request was made for more security at one of the sites that was bombed. He told CNN that Saudi security agencies investigated the site and "found it had adequate security." "The proof of that is when the attack took place in that compound only, unfortunately, sadly the two guards ... were killed," Prince Bandar said. "The physical barriers stopped the attack to hurt the people inside." A team of U.S. investigators is to arrive in Saudi Arabia Thursday after being delayed in Germany. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer attributed the delay to limits on flight time for the crew of the plane transporting the team. "It's not a question of permission from the Saudis," Fleischer said Wednesday. "We do expect that the plane will be there tomorrow." The investigative team includes about a half-dozen agents and technicians from the FBI, State Department and U.S. intelligence agencies. The three-day delay in getting U.S. investigators into Saudi Arabia could hinder their gathering evidence, CNN correspondent Mike Brooks said. "The sooner you get there on the ground, get the investigators going, start interviews -- the sooner you are going to find out who is responsible for this," said Brooks, a former FBI joint terrorism task force member. Brooks investigated the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia. His trip was a direct flight that lasted 15 hours and included two midair refuelings. Brooks said evidence can be lost due to time and weather. Some witnesses may never be found. Some investigative techniques won't be able to be used because of the delay. However, a U.S. official said American authorities "have every confidence the Saudis have properly secured the crime scene so that evidence can be gathered." Fleischer: Saudis need to acknowledge threatThe Saudi government has vowed to work with the United States in the investigation of the attacks, according to U.S. officials. Some U.S. authorities and lawmakers have criticized Saudi Arabia's record in the fight against terrorism. Fleischer said Saudi Arabia needs to fully acknowledge the threat of terrorism. "As with many countries around the world, the fact is that Saudi Arabia must deal with the fact that it has terrorists inside its own country, and their presence is as much a threat to Saudi Arabia as it is to Americans and others who live and work in Saudi Arabia," Fleischer said. "These bombs kill not just Americans, but Saudis as well." Saudi officials suspect al Qaeda memberU.S. and Saudi officials said it appeared Monday's attacks were the work of al Qaeda, the terrorist organization headed by Saudi exile Osama bin Laden. Saudi officials have told reporters they suspect a Saudi al Qaeda member named Khaled Mohammed Musallam al Jehani was the ringleader of the Riyadh attacks. U.S. officials said they do not have information to back up the assertion, but they would not rule it out. U.S. officials said they believe al Jehani has been in Saudi Arabia recently and "could very well have played a key role." But U.S. intelligence is looking at "a couple of other core al Qaeda types as well," one official said. During the U.S. war in Afghanistan in 2001, the FBI issued an alert seeking information on al Jehani after he appeared on a tape found in an al Qaeda safe house in Kabul. On the tape, released by the U.S. Justice Department in January 2002, al Jehani caressed a Kalashnikov rifle and spoke of his readiness to conduct a "martyrdom" attack. Last week, the Saudi government issued an all-points bulletin for 19 men -- 17 of them Saudis -- on suspicion of planning terrorist attacks. The three residential compounds targeted included one used by an American defense contractor and one owned by a pro-Western Saudi billionaire. (Locations of blasts, Dorrat Al Jadawel, Vinnell Corp. compound) Al Qaeda opposes the Saudi government and the presence of the U.S. military in the country. Of the 19 hijackers who took part in the September 11, 2001, attacks, 15 were Saudi citizens. (Special report) CNN Correspondents Rula Amin, Mike Brooks, David Ensor, John King, Andrea Koppel and Brent Sadler and Producer Elise Labott contributed to this report.
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