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Saudi official says countrymen responsible for Khobar Towers bomb

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19 U.S. service members died in the 1996 bombing  

Cautious U.S. says investigation's not over

May 22, 1998
Web posted at: 7:43 p.m. EDT (2343 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States is reacting with caution to comments by Saudi Arabia's interior minister that a deadly bombing attack on U.S. military personnel in 1996 was the work of Saudi nationals, not terrorists from other countries.

Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz was quoted by a Kuwaiti newspaper as saying that the bombing of the Khobar Towers housing complex took place by "Saudi hands" and that "no foreign party had any role in it." The blast killed 19 U.S. service members.

However, Nayef did not rule out the possibility that the Saudi bombers could have links to terrorists in other countries.

But a senior U.S. official told CNN that the U.S. investigation into the Khobar bombing is still under way and that there has been "no official contact with the Saudis on this."

U.S. law enforcement officials also told CNN that their investigators have not been given access to all of the evidence in the case, which is being investigated principally by Saudi authorities.

Those U.S. officials say they are particularly concerned that they have not been allowed access to suspects the Saudis have detained.

Warmer relations

There have been previous reports, some of which were attributed to Saudi security sources, that linked Iran to the bombing -- a link which, if proven, could lead to U.S. military action against Iran.

Nayef's comments come as Prince Saud al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, prepares to visit Iran later this month. Relations between the two countries have been thawing since the election last year of moderate Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, as have relations between Iran and the United States.

"I think from a political point of view, [Nayef's comments] will help ensure that the issue doesn't become a constant threat [to] attempts by the U.S. for their part, and by the Saudis for their part, to improve relations with Tehran," said Neil Partrick of the Royal United Services Institute for Defense Studies in London.

"It's convenient to try and circumvent .. or to try and prevent any further speculation that might be embarrassing, given the warming relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, by trying to suggest, in a sense, that it is a domestic issue," Partrick said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

 
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