Eyewitness Accounts of the Riyadh Bombings

First Account

"... Many of you asked for an update, so here is what I can tell you from what I saw. The story is still unfolding.. ( Hey, You know us Gators are tough to kill...) At about 1115 pm last night there was a firefight with automatic weapons at the Jadawel Compound''s back gate -about 200 meters from my door.. I jumped up from my computer which "was" on my desk next to a big plate glass window in the front of the house.. I knew immediately that it was not just some idiot celebrating because It started out as quick single pistol shots then escalated to what sounded like an argument between a 9mm MP5 (our security) and an AK 47or two.. it got faster, louder and closer, then there was a dull crump like a grenade , and a distant heavy thump like a big explosion off in the distance somewhere.. By the second heavy burst of fire I ran to the stairs and hollered to my housemate Dave who was already in bed on the second floor. he jumped up and left his room. the shooting lasted about sixty seconds before the bomb detonated. At this point I remember everything in slow motion. As I turned from the stairs to grab my shoes and start turning off the lights (since it sounded like they were inside the perimeter and heading our way) I turned one step to my right, into a small alcove where my shoes were, & the world suddenly turned orange. There was a massive flash, and I could actually see the shockwave as the window and doors blew in, things blew by me, glass shattered, and the blast picked me up and shoved me back against a wall, -hard...the noise was .. incredible, undescribale, aparently they detonated a truck full of RDX about 200 meters from me. the blast seemed to last forever. as the front rooms came apart it reminded me of those slow motion nuke test films.. Suddenly it was quiet, except for the ringing in my ears that is still bothering me 20 hrs later, like an echo of the explosion inside my skull that keeps nagging me.I picked myself off the floor and started turning off lights.. amazingly we never lost power in my area. Everything was blackness smoke and dust. there was a strange, sickly odor, and a yellowish brown haze. We were very concerned that there were more sappers or shooters coming next, so Dave & I locked ourselves into an upstairs bedroom and prayed while hiding in a closet. (My only armament was a pocket knife.) When we finally heard emergency response sirens outside, I went down to the compound clinic to help with the casualties. (I used to be an EMT) We had lots of blast injuries, lacerations, internal bleeding, etc.. a lot of concussion & delayed shock, etc. most of the wounded were actually compound workers from pakistan, bangladesh, etc,, the bomb wiped out their quarters by the back gate. we had about 7 dead (no americans) but about three americans were shipped to local hospitals with blast injuries & lacerations, etc.. maybe 15 -20 moderate to light other injuries at last count, it was pretty hectic, and everytime triage seemed to me settling down someone showed up puking and coughing with shock, concussion, etc. By daybreak we had a handle on the worst of the emergency, had accounted for everyone, and had an idea of the scope of the attacks on the other compounds. I got off with minor scrapes, glass nicks, & bruises, -I''m fine...The exact number of attackers is a litteral jigsaw puzzle. my house is trashed, so I''m staying at a friend''s villa in a less damaged area. I was blessed, Im doing ok , just a bit shaken, & dont like people slamming doors very much. Today I helped coordinate and run the damage assessment, and all those years with CE came in handy.. we actually were looking for unocupied houses with the least damage so we could relocate the worst hit families into them asap. Im not sure what tommorrow will bring but Im helping where I can. everyone here is shaken, but pulling togather, helping each other out, etc. we were very very blessed."

Second Eye Witness Account

"... We found the foot and boot and AK-47 in one backyard and the forearm and hand in the next one over. The other photos are of some of the damage to the central facility. The villas near ground zero are toast with windows blown out, ceilings buckled and A/C duct work bulged from the overpressure.

We heard that there were three deaths of TCNs here at Jadawel. We assume they were security personnel but no body knows for sure at this point. (Update: two saudis and a Filipino who were in the room closest to the wall which collapsed on them.)

All the restaurant staff is alive although a couple were in the hospital. Names are sketchy at this point. There were three Americans taken to the hospital in serious condition from our compound, but nobody that I knew. If these people were competent, the death and distruction would have been much worse.

This is what I know from talking to people who have talked to the security people assigned to the compound. The bombers drove up to the back gate barrier gate and jumped out and shot the armed RSAF security guard before driving on up to the main back gate. They then placed a satchel charge which blew down the steel gate set into the wall. They then drove onto the compound and turned right which is what saved us. Had he gone straight and into the center of the compound the detonation would have been devestating. However, by turning right, he drove into a dead end where they house the TCN workers. The bomber attempted to back up but apparently hit the detonate button instead and blew up there between the wall, the water plant and the TCN quarters. The structures absorbed most of the force. God watches over us because, not only was the car bomber inside the compound but there were at least 7 suicide bombers on foot following the car. When it blew up, it took them out also.

They have found body parts of the seven scattered over the back field. And in the back yards of some of the villas. I don't know if anyone has looked on the roofs to see whats up there. Had they got in and mingled with the people who came out of their villas to see what was going on, the death toll would have been terriffic. But, as I said, God was watching over us. That and the fact these people are incompetent SOBs (that's my polite version of what I think about these scum).

A little while ago, the Saudi miliatry was out there blowing up the unexploded bombs that had survived the initial detonation. That created a little bit of excitement to hear fresh explosions until they put out the word on what was going on. Other than that, we're in a wait and see mode right now. Don't know if they're going to evacuate us or not. My guess is they won't. This is probably the safest place in the world now. So I expect we'll hang in here since there's no point in loading a bunch of Americans on planes which makes really nice targets unless you really have no choice."

Books by James Dunnigan