Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for Monday's attack on the U.S. Consulate in the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah that left nine people dead.

A statement carried on an Islamic Web site and signed by the Qaida Network in the Arab Peninsula said, Your brothers succeeded in killing nine agents in the consulate including two American animals and seven treacherous policemen and wounding dozens.

The statement, authorship of which could not be authenticated, said the attackers were able to pull out of the consulate building after several hours and find shelter in a safe place. It claimed that two fighters became martyrs and three others were wounded.

Other updates:

• Attack Payback for Iraq:

The website said the daring midday raid had been dubbed "the blessed Fallujah battle", referring to the former insurgent stronghold in Iraq over-running a bloody two-week showdown last month by US troops.

• Attack well organized:

"It's quite clear those terrorists observed our procedures for some time," Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said.

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State will look at what happened, and how, to "assess what the vulnerabilities were," Ereli said. He and other U.S. officials praised Saudi forces who killed or captured the attackers.

• Press denounces Jeddah attack