Crown Prince Abdullah says Saudi is committed to finding those responsible

Saudi Arabia's de facto leader, Crown Prince Abdullah, has appeared on state television to denounce the deadly car bombs against Western targets in Riyadh.

In a speech in which he quoted the Koran, the prince said that the attacks had been carried out by "criminal butchers" who would be punished in hell for their actions.

Echoing sentiments expressed by United States Secretary of State Colin Powell when he visited the scene of the bombings, Crown Prince Abdullah vowed that the Saudi authorities would "put an end" to such attacks.

Saudi officials have put the death toll from the three bombings at 29 - including seven Americans and nine suspected attackers, who shot their way past armed guards and rammed vehicles packed with explosives into compounds housing mainly foreigners.

Unidentified officials at the State Department in Washington were quoted as saying more than 90 people had been killed - but a statement later said the number of victims was nearer the Saudi estimate.

Amid ongoing concern for the safety of expatriate workers in the conservative kingdom Washington has directed all non-essential diplomatic personnel and their family members to return home.

FBI despatched

A team of investigators from the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have been despatched to Saudi Arabia to help with the probe into who carried out the attacks.

The FBI "assessment team" is led by a senior official from the counterterrorism division and includes up to a dozen agents and technicians.

Both Saudi and US officials have blamed al-Qaeda operatives for the bombings, which were well planned and well orchestrated suicide attacks.

Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, who has repeatedly demanded that US forces leave the kingdom which has two of Islam's holiest shrines.

A 100 metre column of fire shot up into the sky, there was smoke, black smoke... it was horrible Expatriates' horror and fear Would you go to Saudi Arabia?

Also, 15 of the 19 men suspected of carrying out the 11 September suicide attacks on New York and Washington were Saudis.

Crown Prince Abdullah said that those who carried out the attacks were "criminal butchers, devoid of any Islamic or human values" and "beasts, seeking only to shed blood".

"There is no other interpretation: These killers are cursed here on Earth, and in the hereafter their fate is hellfire," he said, quoting the Koran.

"If those murderers believe that their bloody crimes will shake even one hair on the body of this nation and its unity, they are deceiving themselves. If they believe they will shake the security and stability of our country, they are dreaming," he added.

The blasts in the east of the city also injured about 200 people, according to Saudi figures, and left widespread devastation.

Failure to act

US President George W Bush has denounced the bomb attacks against Western targets in Saudi Arabia as "despicable acts" and vowed to bring those responsible to justice.

The blast destroyed apartments and villas

The bombings came just hours before US Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Riyadh. But he went ahead with the visit, describing the attacks as a "cowardly operation" which bore all the hallmarks of the al-Qaeda network.

Mr Powell saw for himself the devastation at the Vinnell complex - home to US workers who train Saudi military and civilian officials - where seven Americans and a Saudi died.

One building had its side completely torn off, while the wreckage of burnt-out vehicles littered the car park.

Saudi Arabia has frequently come under fire for not doing enough to curb terrorism and failing to root out al-Qaeda supporters in the kingdom and critics argue that even after this incident there will not be a sufficient crackdown on extreme elements.

But Prince Abdullah said that this would not be the case: "We promise that the nation is capable ... of putting an end to this corrupt band and its supporters so severely that they will not be able to rise again," he said.