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
It's 50 years since Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama fled here from Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
more »
Women across the EU earn on average 17.4% less than men, according to new EU statistics, released as part of a commission campaign to narrow the pay gap between the sexes.
more »
It's 1941 and the height of WWII. Amid all the suffering, a couple of Italians imprisoned for anti-fascism sketched out a vision of how post-war Europe could look on cigarette papers.
more »
Kenya's president Mwai Kibaki denies press accusations that he has a second wife.
more »
In the last 30 years the European Union has striven to seek gender equality in all aspects of its work.
more »
Proposals to boost shopper's confidence on the high street and the internet will be opened to public debate by MEPs Monday afternoon.
more »
How the EU promotes creativity and innovation – 20 projects showcased in Brussels
more »
A desperate battle to save the lives of hundreds of pilot whales beached on an island off Tasmania.
more »
Four year old Krishna Goraik‘s family refuse to arrange his funeral because child‘s mother believes by offering prayers he will come back to life after seven days.
more »
Leading MEPs have joined Nicole Kidman and the UN in the “Say NO to violence against women” campaign.
more »