RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A Dutch family escaped unharmed when a bomb targeted their car late last month in the Red Sea port of Jeddah, a Netherlands embassy source said Tuesday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said the family escaped injury because the device appeared to be primitive and to have been damaged by rain.
The family, long-time residents of Saudi Arabia, appeared to be the latest targets in a series of car bomb attacks that have killed three Westerners and injured a number of others over the past two years.
The embassy warned Dutch nationals to check their cars for bombs, avoid appearing in public and to refrain from discussing sensitive issues.
Western analysts linked the bombings to growing hatred of the West, and especially the United States, for support of Israel in its policy toward the Palestinian uprising and out of objections to the presence of Westerners in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi authorities have blamed the bombings on gang rivalry over a illegal traffic in alcohol. Five Britons, a Canadian and a Belgian were arrested on charges of being implicated in bombing operations that targeted Westerners between January and March 2001.
