Riyadh
Al Qaida militants kidnapped an American contractor in Riyadh this week, saying they would treat him the way Iraqis were treated in Abu Ghraib prison. The abduction of Paul Johnson, a Lockheed Martin employee, followed the murders of two other Americans, Kenneth Scroggs and Robert Jacobs, who were each shot in the back at their Riyadh homes. Saudi officials called the killings and kidnapping “craven acts of evil.” Secretary of State Colin Powell praised the Saudis for their efforts to crack down on Islamic militancy, but added, “I think there is more that they can do.” Expatriate workers are still questioning how three killers managed to slip past hundreds of police and escape after massacring 22 Westerners in Khobar last month.
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