Northrop employees killed in attack

Nine employees of a Northrop Grumman Corp. subsidiary were among 29 people killed in coordinated bomb attacks on three facilities in Saudi Arabia May 12, the company said.

The employees worked for Vinnell Corp., a part of Northrop Grumman's Mission Systems sector. A residential and office facility used by employees of Vinnell Arabia was one of three compounds attacked in Riyadh.

Of the nine employees killed, seven were U.S. citizens, and two were citizens of the Philippines. A number of Vinnell employees were injured in the attack and taken to area hospitals. Several were treated and released, and 15 were hospitalized.

Vinnell Arabia employs about 800 people in Riyadh, 300 of them American citizens. The unit is under contract with the Army to provide training services to the Saudi Arabian National Guard.

"We are deeply shocked by this senseless attack, and mourn the loss of our colleagues," said Donald Winter, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. "All of us at Northrop Grumman extend our deepest sympathy to those who have lost loved ones."

Northrop Grumman's corporate headquarters is in Los Angeles. The Mission Systems sector is based in Reston, Va. *