Northrop Grumman loses nine employees in terrorist attack

Nine employees of a Northrop Grumman Corp. subsidiary are among 29 people killed in coordinated bomb attacks on three facilities in Saudi Arabia May 12, the company said in a statement released May 13.

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 are hospitalized, two in serious condition.

A small number of dependent families lived within the Vinnell compound, but none were harmed in the attack. None of the employees' identities have been released.

Vinnell Arabia employs about 800 people in Riyadh, 300 of them American citizens. The unit is under contract to 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."

Winter also thanked Secretary of State Colin Powell for his visit to the Vinnell Compound and for his support. "We continue to work closely with the U.S. government to secure the safety of all company employees and their dependents in Saudi Arabia," he said.

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