In addition, Crown Prince Abdullah, the man who actually runs the country, went on the air to denounce the attackers.
"They are no different from vicious animals whose only concern is to shed blood and bring terror to those innocents blessed by security," the prince said.
"These tragic events should serve as a warning to the unwary, and should restore sanity to the deluded," the crown prince continued. "The perpetrators are but a small group of deviants whose objective is to do harm to our society by doing damage to its security."
Saudis are now waiting to see whether the crown prince will personally supervise the investigation, which would be a clear indication that the attacks are being taken as a serious threat, or whether the kingdom reverts to form and passes off the attacks as an isolated incident.
"I think the government will continue the same as before," said one Saudi analyst, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
"That is walking the tightrope between going after the trigger men while playing cozy with the infrastructure that feeds the extremists," the analyst said.
Saudi officials expressed a certain relief that the attacks would cast the kingdom as a victim of terrorism just as the US was after Sept. 11. One official said he hoped the attacks would disprove the charge that Saudi royalty pays protection money to militants so that no attacks are carried out in the kingdom.
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