Saudi says US consulate assailant was alone

RIYADH, May 15 (Reuters) Saudi Arabia said today that a man who was arrested last week for firing on guards at the US consulate in Jeddah appeared to be acting on his own and was not linked to any other group.

An interior ministry statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency identified the man as Saudi national Mohammed bin Abdulrazeq Saad Faydy al-Ghamdi and said he had been a psychiatric patient.

''It became clear from his medical file that he had been a patient at psychiatric clinics. Authorities could not find any evidence linking this incident to any other sides,'' the statement said.

It added that investigations confirmed that a pistol found with 32-year-old Ghamdi was the one used in the shooting, in which none of the guard was hit.

On Friday, police chased and arrested the suspect after wounding him in a shootout when he fled from his car.

In December 2004, al Qaeda militants stormed the US consulate compound in the Red Sea port city, killing five non-American consular staff. Four of the five attackers died in the attack and a fifth was wounded and arrested.

Saudi Arabia has since May 2003 been battling a campaign of al Qaeda violence aimed at toppling the country's US-allied monarchy and forcing out Westerners.

Last month, Saudi Arabia said it had arrested five militants linked to a failed al Qaeda attack on a major oil facility in February, and seized 1.5 tonnes of explosives.

REUTERS SHB BD1918