Saudi commandos landed on the roof of a housing complex on Sunday morning - a dramatic end to a 25-hour drama
Published:
30 May 2004 y., Sunday
Saudi commandos landed on the roof of a housing complex on Sunday morning - a dramatic end to a 25-hour drama which, according to the government, left 22 civilians dead, most of them foreigners.
Islamist militants were holding dozens of foreigners hostage in the complex in the oil city of Khobar. Security forces freed about 50 people and arrested one of four gunmen. Several hostages and security men were killed.
An Internet statement purporting to come from Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network said its militants had "slaughtered" an Italian and a Swedish hostage. A top al-Qaeda leader, Abdulaziz al-Muqrin, also said in an audio statement that militants had killed a Japanese citizen.
The standoff began on Saturday when gunmen in military uniforms shot at Western oil firms and housing compounds. They killed at least nine Saudis and eight foreigners, before fleeing to the Oasis complex, which has housed executives from leading oil firms such as Royal Dutch Shell and Total.
This was the second major attack on the Saudi oil industry in less than a month.
Senior Saudi officials have been meeting Western oil executives in nearby Dhahran, to reassure them about security.
Saturday's attack prompted Washington to reiterate a call for its citizens to leave Saudi Arabia. Britain repeated a warning to avoid all but essential travel to the kingdom.
A statement signed by the "al Qaeda network in the Arabian Peninsula" has vowed to rid Saudi Arabia of what it called "infidels."
Šaltinis:
EuroNews
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Getting on their glad rags, pensioners in the India capital New Delhi stepped out on to the to strut their stuff.
more »
Attempt to reach agreement over the working time directive - which limits workers to 48 hours including overtime - broke down late Monday night (27 April) as MEPs and EU Ministers failed to agree.
more »
She has only been on the job for 100 days, but First Lady Michelle Obama has managed to dazzle the public.
more »
Across Europe the amount of time new mums can have off after the birth of their child varies from 14 to 52 weeks.
more »
The note was written by prisoners at the Nazis' Auschwitz death camp during World War Two and stuffed into a bottle.
more »
Spectators at a Kentucky race course were left shocked after an horrific crash involving a rider-less horse.
more »
As a family in Mexico mourned the death of the latest suspected victim of the swine flu, the deadly virus pushed its way into New Zealand and Israel.
more »
For the seventh time in a row spring will not be only a season of blossoming flowers but also a time when students all over the world can get to know more about the European Union.
more »
Traditional Hungarian herdsmen don the clothes of an age gone by as they mark the start of the summer season by parading their flocks.
more »
The jobless rate is rising faster among the young, underscoring the need for a new long-term strategy to address their plight.
more »