22 died in al-Qaeda attack

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.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

The most popular articles

Sakharov Prize 2010 - 9 nominations

Nine nominations for the 2010 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought have been tabled by EP political groups or groups of over 40 MEPs. more »

European Mobility Week 2010 urges you to leave the car at home and walk or cycle to work

As the primary source of daily noise, pollution and congestion, car traffic relentlessly erodes our health and quality of life. more »

Warming Arctic brings opportunities and threats

The European Parliament hosted the 9th Conference of Parliamentarians from the Arctic region from 13-15 September in Brussels. more »

Moving forward with European Mobility Week

Get on your (electric) bike! That's the message of some cycling groups who are currently holding an exhibition of electric bikes outside the European Parliament. more »

Newborn found on Philippine-bound plane

Philippine officials search for the mother of a baby, found dumped in a rubbish bin on board a Manila-bound Gulf Air plane. more »

Bangladesh prepares for Eid

Millions of Muslims in Bangladesh prepare to celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan. more »

EU revises laws to better protect animals used in scientific experiments

The European Parliament has voted to revise legislation on animals used for scientific purposes. more »

A dog’s life for daschunds in Poland

Sausage dogs take to the streets of Cracow in medieval fancy dress to celebrate the 600th anniversary of 'The Battle of Grunwald'. more »

Older women: Parliament calls for positive discrimination

EU Member States should take positive discrimination measures to improve the lives of older women, including paid leave for carers, says Parliament in a resolution voted on Tuesday. more »

Thousands attend al-Aqsa prayers

Tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers gather at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque to celebrate 'Laylat al-Qadr' - one of the holiest nights of Ramadan. more »