Death sentence for man over US consulate attack in Saudi Arabia

RIYADH // A Saudi court has sentenced a man to death and 19 others to prison terms of up to 25 years in connection with the 2004 armed assault on the US Consulate in Jeddah that killed five employees in an attack blamed on Al Qaeda.

The official Saudi Press Agency said another 35 suspects linked to the consulate storming will face court hearings this week.

The report late Sunday gave no further details on the alleged attacker sentenced to death or when the execution could be carried out.

The attack on the heavily guarded compound came amid a series of attacks by Al Qaeda-linked militants in response to crackdowns across Saudi Arabia.

Gunmen killed five locally hired consulate workers, and four attackers were fatally wounded in the three-hour battle.

* Associated Press