American Killed in Riyadh
Associated Press
Wednesday, June 9, 2004; Page A22
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, June 8 -- An American who worked for a defense contractor in Virginia was shot and killed Tuesday in the Saudi capital, the second killing of a Westerner in the kingdom in three days.
An unknown assailant killed the man in his home, said a spokesman for his employer, Vinnell Corp., based in Fairfax. "He was found by another employee at his apartment and taken to a hospital, but did not survive," said the spokesman, Jay McCaffrey.
The victim was identified as Robert C. Jacobs, 62, of Murphysboro, Ill., a seven-year employee of Vinnell, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corp., said Northrop spokeswoman Janis Lamar.
Seven Vinnell employees were among the 35 people, including nine suicide bombers, who died last year in an attack on a foreigners' housing compound in Riyadh.
Vinnell, which has several dozen Americans in the kingdom training Saudi security forces, maintains a guarded secure residential compound for its employees, but the victim chose not to live there, McCaffrey said.
In addition to training security forces, Vinnell also provides services ranging from construction to supply and transportation work. Last year, it was awarded a $48 million contract to train the new Iraqi army.
Islamic militants have carried out a series of attacks on Westerners, government targets and economic interests in the kingdom during the past 13 months. The government has blamed the attacks on people inspired by, or belonging to, the al Qaeda network.
Insurgents shot members of a BBC team Sunday while they were filming a militant's family home in Riyadh. The cameraman, Simon Cumbers, 36, an Irish citizen, was killed, and security correspondent Frank Gardner, 42, a Briton, was critically wounded.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
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