[angelize56]

12 killed, hostages held in Saudi Arabia
Saturday, May 29, 2004 Posted: 3:07 PM EDT (1907 GMT)

(CNN) -- Four gunmen have attacked an oil company compound in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, killing at least 12 people and taking a number of hostages, according to informed sources and Saudi officials.

One American and one British citizen were among the dead, western diplomatic sources said. A U.S. State Department spokesman said two Americans are known to be wounded.

The U.S. embassy in Riyadh has advised all American citizens to leave Saudi Arabia, officials there said.

Sources said the dead also included several Saudis, three Filipinos, a Pakistani and a 10-year-old Egyptian boy -- whose father worked for an oil company at the compound in Khobar, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of the capital, Riyadh.

Saudi security forces tried to end the hostage standoff by storming the compound, but they were repelled by the barricaded gunmen, sources said.

The attackers released all of their Arab hostages but continued to hold westerners, according to western diplomatic sources.

A senior Saudi Interior Ministry official said the four attackers were on a list of wanted militants, many of whom had been linked to al Qaeda.

He also said it is believed they were under direction of people based outside Saudi Arabia.

A Web site previously used to publish statements for al Qaeda posted a claim of responsibility for the attack Saturday.

A previously unknown group -- calling itself "The Jerusalem Squadron" -- said a group of "brave fighters" attacked "Zionists and crusaders" who are in Khobar to "steal our oil and resources."

The attack started at about 7:30 a.m. (0430 GMT) when one group of gunmen disguised in Saudi police uniforms drove up to the APICORP (Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation) headquarters in Khobar, the sources said.

They shot and killed the guard at the main gate, who is believed to be a Saudi national.

Aftermath of the deadly attack.

Another group of attackers entered the Petroleum Center headquarters 30 minutes later, throwing an explosvie onto a schoolbus killing the Egyptian boy, the sources said. (Ba$tards!!!)

A woman near the bus was injured and taken to the local hospital.

After entering the compounds, the militants opened fire at the buildings, before moving to Saad Center, which is part of Oasis compound. That is where they are believed to be holding hostages, some of which could be expatriates, the sources said.

Saudi police have sealed off the area in an effort to end the standoff. They cannot confirm a casualty count because the standoff is still continuing with heavy gunfire, according to witnesses.

Al-Arabiya television aired video of the scene, showing a man apparently shot dead still sitting in the driver's seat of a car. One car, riddled with bullet holes had blood covered seats, while another was burned out.

Saudi Arabia has been cracking down on terrorists since attacks on compunds in Riyadh in 2003. The government says dozens of terror attacks in the kingdom -- many blamed on al Qaeda -- have been foiled as a result.

Earlier this month, Swiss engineering company ABB evacuated its foreign workers from Yanbu in northwestern Saudi Arabia after gunmen stormed ABB's oil refinery compound on May 1 and killed five Westerners -- two Americans, two British, and one Australian.

Saudi officials said those who carried out the May 1 attack -- all four of whom were also killed in the exchange of fire -- were on a list of wanted militants, many of whom had been linked to al Qaeda and all of whom were from Arab nations.

And in April attackers bombed a security building in Riyadh, killing five people and injuring 148 more.

[angelize56]

Qaeda Militants Kill 16, Hold 50 Hostage in Saudi
Sat May 29, 2004 03:38 PM ET

By Samia Nakhoul

KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Suspected al Qaeda militants killed at least 16 people, including Westerners, and seized 50 foreigners as hostages in a Saudi city on Saturday in an attack on the world's biggest oil exporter.

Saudi forces stormed the Oasis housing compound, where the hostages were being held, in the eastern city of Khobar after the militants -- spraying gunfire at several buildings in their attack -- killed at least nine Saudis and seven foreigners.

"They are holding 50 foreign hostages. There are Americans, but there are more Italians. There are also Arabs," said a compound manager, declining to be named. He said there was an Italian restaurant in the complex, home to at least 20 Italians.

The Italian news agency ANSA quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying no Italians were among the hostages. ANSA said Italy's ambassador in Saudi Arabia had been in contact with representatives of all Italian companies with staff in the area.

Shots rang out in the area as fighting raged between the militants and Saudi forces, who have been battling for a year to stamp out al Qaeda attacks in the kingdom -- a key U.S. ally.

The attack is the second in a month to target the oil industry and Westerners who form a large part of its workforce. Markets have been on edge over the possibility of a militant strike disrupting oil supplies because the situation in Saudi Arabia has already helped push world prices to $40 a barrel.

"NERVE CENTER"

"This is close to the nerve center of the Saudi oil industry, (state oil firm) Aramco headquarters in Dhahran," said Yasser Elguindi, an analyst with Medley Global Advisers in New York. "It could have a devastating impact on the oil market when we reopen (on Tuesday) after the Memorial Day weekend."

An American, a Briton, an Egyptian, two Filipinos, an Indian and a Pakistani were killed in the attack, along with two Saudis and seven security force members, the security sources said.

"We can verify that at least one American citizen has been injured and one killed," said Joanne Moore, a State Department spokeswoman.

Ambulances carried on rushing into the compound, suggesting the death toll might rise.

Witnesses said the militants tied the body of the Briton, an employee of Arab oil firm Apicorp, to a car and dragged it two km (1.2 miles) before dumping it near a bridge.
Apicorp said three of its employees were among the dead.

A statement purportedly from Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network was posted on Islamist Internet sites claiming responsibility for the attack, the third on foreigners in less than a month in the birthplace of Islam.

Al Qaeda has vowed to destabilize the kingdom. In 1996, the group chose Khobar to mount one of its first major attacks, killing 19 U.S. soldiers at a compound.

HUMAN SHIELDS

A policeman said the militants were using the hostages as human shields and that officials were trying to negotiate.

"Security forces are worried about storming because the gunmen have grenades," he said.

The kingdom's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Abdullah, vowed to crush the militants who he said were harming the economy.

"We will continue to chase this deviant group until we eradicate them," he said in remarks on the Saudi Press Agency.

Saturday's attack prompted the U.S. embassy to reiterate a call last month for its citizens to leave Saudi Arabia.

Oil industry sources said Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi was set to meet Western oil company executives in the nearby city of Dhahran to reassure them after the attack.

An Oasis compound employee said the militants had asked residents to show identity cards to find out their religions.

"(The militants) were asking people if they were Christian or Muslims," he said.
Saudi state television showed footage of a man with Western features, slumped in his car, apparently shot dead. It also showed a charred car and a third blood-spattered vehicle.

GUNFIRE AT OIL OFFICES

The attackers opened fire at the Al-Khobar Petroleum Center building, believed to house offices of major Western oil firms, before storming into compounds with oil services offices and homes of employees, the security sources said.

Witnesses said the attackers drove cars with military markings into the Apicorp complex and opened fire. An Egyptian boy was killed when a school bus came under fire.

They also entered the Rami and Oasis compounds, where they took people hostage. Five Lebanese were later released.

Employees of Shell, Honeywell and General Electric lived in one of the compounds. The Oasis residence has housed executives from leading oil firms Royal Dutch/Shell, Total and LUKOIL.

The attack occurred two days after the top al Qaeda leader in the kingdom, Abdulaziz al-Muqrin, issued plans for urban guerrilla warfare designed to topple the royal family.

Earlier this month militants killed five foreigners in an attack on a petrochemical site in the Red Sea town of Yanbu and dragged the body of an American through the streets.

[angelize56]

UPDATE:

Saudis storm besieged compound
Saturday, May 29, 2004 Posted: 7:58 PM EDT (2358 GMT)

(CNN) -- Saudi security forces began storming a residential complex in the city of Khobar Sunday where gunmen were holding as many as 50 hostages, a senior Saudi official said.

The gunmen attacked three locations killing at least 11 people before taking the hostages when they barricaded themselves in the residential complex, according to informed sources and Saudi officials.

There was no immediate word on casualties or arrests from the attack Sunday.

Western diplomatic sources said one American and one British citizen were among the dead in Khobar, an oil industry center about 400 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of the capital, Riyadh.

Between 20 and 50 hostages -- most believed to be non-Arabs -- were being held inside the compound, which was surrounded by Saudi security forces, sources on the scene said. Saudi officials would only say that the attackers had taken "many" hostages.

The U.S. embassy in Riyadh advised all American citizens to leave Saudi Arabia, officials said.

The attack started at about 7:30 a.m. (12:30 a.m. ET) when one group of gunmen disguised in Saudi police uniforms drove up to the APICORP (Arab Petroleum Investments Corp.) headquarters in Khobar, the sources said.

Six people were killed, including a 10-year-old Egyptian boy whose father worked at the APICORP compound. Two Saudi security guards, a British citizen, a Pakistani and a Filipino were also listed among the dead, according to an Arab News reporter who was on the scene.

A few minutes later, an Indian citizen caught in the crossfire of a highway shootout was shot in the neck and died.

At about 8 a.m. (1 a.m. ET), the attackers stormed the Petroleum Center headquarters about two miles away, where they killed at least four people, including an American, the Arab News reporter said.

After entering the compounds, the militants opened fire at the buildings and moved to Saad Center, which is part of Oasis compound, where they barricaded themselves.

Saudi police sealed off the area in an effort to end the standoff. They could not confirm a casualty count due to the continuing standoff amid heavy gunfire and have barred journalists from the area, according to witnesses.

Several hostages -- most of them Lebanese -- were freed soon after the ordeal began, Western diplomatic sources said. The remaining hostages were believed to be all Westerners or Asians, they said.

Reporters near the scene said it appeared Saudi security forces at one point attempted to raid the building but pulled back after taking casualties.

Saudi officials said the attackers were on a list of wanted militants, many of whom had been linked to the al Qaeda network.

A Web site that has published statements from al Qaeda in the past posted a claim of responsibility for the attack.

Aftermath of the deadly attack.

A previously unknown group calling itself "The Jerusalem Squadron" said a group of "brave fighters" attacked "Zionists and crusaders" who are in Khobar to "steal our oil and resources."

While Saudi officials estimated the number of attackers at four, witnesses on the scene have suggested it was higher, since three locations over a two-mile range were attacked within an hour.

A senior Saudi Interior Ministry official said it was believed the attackers were under the direction of people based outside Saudi Arabia.

Al-Arabiya television aired video of the attack scenes. One image showed a man, apparently shot dead, still sitting in the driver's seat of a car. One car was riddled with bullet holes and its seats were covered in blood, while another was burned out.

Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, issued a statement condemning the attack.

"We grieve for the loss of innocent life and share our deepest condolences with the families of the victims. These terrorists have no respect for human life and no regard for the principles of Islam," bin Sultan said.

Saudi Arabia has been cracking down on terrorists since attacks on compounds in Riyadh in 2003. The government says dozens of terror attacks in the kingdom -- many blamed on al Qaeda -- have been foiled as a result.

Earlier this month, Swiss engineering company ABB evacuated its foreign workers from Yanbu in northwestern Saudi Arabia after gunmen stormed ABB's oil refinery compound May 1 and killed five Westerners -- two Americans, two British and one Australian.

Saudi officials said those who carried out the May 1 attack -- all four of whom were killed in the exchange of fire -- were on a list of wanted militants, many of whom had been linked to al Qaeda and all of whom were from Arab nations.

And in April attackers bombed a security building in Riyadh, killing five people and injuring 148 more.

[EdGreene]

The Imperious Saudi, thinking to placate Al Queada and other militants, and Saudi Arabia being the breeding ground for the 9/11 terrorists, is being hoisted by its own Petard, its mollycoddling of terrorist leading to this brutal attack is matter of: "The Chickens coming home to roost". I know, an American got in trouble for saying the same about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. But this time, the saying is accurate.

The Saudis have thought themselves immune from terrorist attacks because they have the Holy Cities. But these crackpots don't care about that, they strike where they can-when they can.

The Royal family has sown this whirlwind by funding groups who, if not terrorist organizations, then front organization for the same. And now, they reap...

[plschwartz]

Fill up on gas this weekend before the oil markets open on tuesday

[EdGreene]

Originally Posted by plschwartz

Fill up on gas this weekend before the oil markets open on tuesday

I don't need no steenkin' gasolines man, my diesels run on recycled vegetable oil!

[slickoe]

What the hell kind of micky mouse security did these complexes have? Somebody should hang (oops, it's SA, they WILL hang, or be flogged, or lose a hand, etc.)

[Al-Firdaus]

TRANSCRIPT: Al-Qaida Statement On The Khobar Operation
May 29, 2004
JUS News Desk

In The Name Of Allah, The Most Benevolent, The Most Merciful

All Praise Be to Allah, the Leader of the Muttaqun (pious people). There is no aggression except on aggressors. All peace be upon he who was sent with sword, the prophet of mercy, Muhammad and upon his family and companions. Ameen.

This morning, Saturday 10 Rabi Al-Akhir 1425, the Mujahideen, the heroes of Al-Quds Sar'ya managed, with the power of Allah, to break into the area of Americans companies called Al-Khobar Petroleum Center that that belongs to Haliburton, the American occupying company which consists of some specialized companies in the fields of oil and mining construction that are stealing Muslims' resources. As of now, they managed to kill and hurt some of our crusader enemies.

InshaAllah, all details will be published soon to inform you with the names of those heroes of Al-Quds Sar'ya.

Those heroes are an honorable example of Islam's youths in the Arabian Gulf. There are many others who are ready for shuhadaa (martyrdom), killing the enemies of Allah from those among the Christians, Jews and the followers of the apostate Arabian governors. Their (the Mujahideen) hearts are bleeding for what is happening to their Muslim brothers in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq and everywhere. Keep watching as there is more to come to quench one's thirst, with Allah's Will.

O Lord, who revealed the Holy Book (Qura'n), moves the clouds and overpowers the gangs of enemies, strike America and its followers. O Lord, who is the most Strong, strike them, shake them and give us victory. Ameen.

Al-Qaida Organization of the Arab Gulf


KHOBAR (Update 2): Some Hostages Killed, Some Rescued In Incursion
May 29, 2004
JUS News Desk

Saudi security forces have stormed the housing complex where Al-Qaida operatives were holding hostages. About have of the hostages were killed and several more wounded. Some were released although exact numbers are not yet known. Medics attended to some hostages inside the complex. The body of a Briton was dragged through the streets, according to witnesses

Two militants were also killed during the rescue operation after which most of the hostages and residents were evacuated to hospitals and hotels, security sources said.

Muslim hostages were released previously however approximately 50 remained.

Four Al-Qaida operatives were believed to have controled of the 6th floor of the building.

In the latest in a series of attacks on the kingdom's oil industry, Al-Qaida operatives dressed in military-style uniforms, opened fire with automatic weapons on compounds housing oil company offices in Khobar early this morning, killing a total of 15 people. Vehicles were left riddled with bullets and some burst into flames.

Of those killed, seven were Saudi “security” forces. One American, one Brit, one Egyptian, one Indian, one Pakistani, two Filipinos and two Saudi civilians also died in the attacks. Mujahideen sources say that a total of 38 were killed prior to the hostage taking.

The Mujahideen then fled into the luxury six-storey Oasis housing compound and took hostages. Five Lebanese and two Dutch citizens are reported to have been released.
Security forces tried stormed the compound but were driven back by grenades thrown by the militants. Hundreds of police officers have surrounded the area, and gunfire is currently being heard.

A statement from "Al-Qaida of the Arab Gulf" claimed responsibility for the attack. The message said Americans would not be allowed to steal Saudi Arabia's riches.

BBC Middle East correspondent Paul Wood says that with oil at more than $40 a barrel, the attack is bad news for the world's economy. He adds that by terrifying foreign workers in the oil industry, the militants are also undermining the ruling Saudi royal family - one of Al-Qaida’s stated aims.

Saudi forces were combing the area for explosives and fugitive militants, security sources said on Sunday and remain on high alert. (JUS)

[angelize56]

Saudi: Gunmen allowed to escape
Al Qaeda blamed for attack
Monday, May 31, 2004 Posted: 11:37 AM EDT (1537 GMT)

(CNN) -- Three of four attackers who killed 22 people in the Saudi oil city of Khobar were allowed to escape because they were threatening to kill 242 people being held as human shields, a senior Saudi Interior Ministry official says.

A group connected to the al Qaeda terrorist network claimed responsibility for the weekend attacks, saying they were intended to show the Saudi government cannot protect its oil workers.

The official said Monday the attackers told Saudi commanders they were wearing explosive belts and would set off blasts killing the people they were holding.

At that point, the official said, the Saudi commanders decided to let them go.

The three men fled in a car belonging to a resident of a residential complex they had penetrated. They changed cars several times and eluded Saudi security forces, the official said.

However, he added, the security forces know who the three men are and what they look like.

The 25-hour rampage began Saturday at 7:30 a.m. (0430 GMT) when gunmen clad in military-style uniforms went on a shooting spree inside two oil industry office compounds of APICORP (Arab Petroleum Investments Corp.), Saudi officials said.

A Web site connected to the Jerusalem Brigade, a group Saudi officials say is linked to al Qaeda, carried a report Monday saying the attackers created a diversion and slipped into the compound that houses oil workers.

The dispatch boasted that the attackers slit the throats of nine hostages at the Oasis Residential Resorts, one of the buildings housing the oil workers. (Do you revel in this fact Al????)

The victims of the rapid series of three attacks Saturday in Khobar included three Saudis, one American, one Italian, eight Indians, three Filipinos, two Sri Lankans, one Swede, one South African, one Briton and one child -- a 10-year-old Egyptian boy -- the ministry said.

A fourth attacker was captured when he was severely wounded. The Saudi official said the attacker had undergone surgery for his wounds.

Saudi officials have not publicly identified the attacker who was captured, but the Interior Ministry said he was near the top of Saudi Arabia's list of most-wanted al Qaeda members.

"It certainly looks like al Qaeda to me," Steve Simon, a terrorism expert at the Rand Corporation, told CNN's American Morning.

"Of course, al Qaeda has many affiliated groups, but the originating half of al Qaeda did stem from Saudi Arabia. So it's got deep roots there."

Simon said the attackers' objectives included getting Christians out of Saudi Arabia, driving a wedge between Saudi Arabia and the United States "because they feel that the royal family will go down if it loses outside support" and making the government look foolish and weak "by carrying out these attacks and getting away with it."

Venkataramani Baskar was on the third floor of the Oasis complex when the attack began above him.

"Suddenly ... we started hearing the grenades," he told a reporter.

"So they were carrying grenades and I could hear the grenades being rolled on the ground and bursting out. That scared me a lot. Because I could hear 'ta-ta-ta' rolling noise and then a big bang and the whole building was shaking."

Baskar said he thought the building would collapse.

"That is when I called my colleagues and told them 'Guys, I am stuck in the third floor, the fourth and fifth floor are the one target where people are hitting and why can't you get me out?"

Eventually, he did get out, and flew to Dubai, where he was reunited with his family. "I am enjoying my second life," he said.

Another witness described the attackers as "very young -- maybe 20 year olds, even 18. And one of them was old, maybe in his 30s."

The incident was the worst terrorist act in Saudi Arabia for a year and the second this month to target the lucrative oil industry.

A claim of responsibility for the assault was posted on an Islamic Web site from the Jerusalem Brigade, a group Saudi officials said they believe is linked to al Qaeda.

The statement on the Web site said the violence was intended to punish the Saudi kingdom for its oil dealings with the United States.

Along with the statement was an audio recording attributed to Abdel Aziz Muqrin, identified by Saudi authorities as the country's top al Qaeda figure and at the top of the kingdom's most-wanted list.

The audiotape attributed to Muqrin declared "a clear victory," saying the "heroes" managed to kill "many crusaders of different nationalities, among them an American who was dragged on the streets of the city. (I understand the man was British.) Another one is a high official in a British oil company, and another is an Italian who was slaughtered and given as a gift to the Italian government."

Britain's Foreign Office said a British citizen named Michael Hamilton was missing and presumed dead.

The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh has advised all Americans to leave Saudi Arabia.

After the shooting spree in the APICORP office compounds, the attackers moved up the street and blasted their way into the sprawling Oasis residential complex, entering in at least three separate locations. They shot and killed at least two Saudi security guards before opening fire on surrounding buildings.

The Interior Ministry said the gunmen attempted to drive their explosives-laden car to the residential complex.

When gates and guards thwarted their attempts to drive near the building, they scaled fences and began the rampage in which they took hostages, the ministry statement said.

Syrian-American Marwan Mowad, who was holed up in his villa during the attack, told CNN the attackers avoided entering the main gate because it was heavily secured.

He said he saw the gunmen target Westerners.

"One guy, a Frenchman, his wife and kids, [the gunmen] knew they were inside [a villa] so they tried to put the place on fire," but the family survived, he said. (Thank God!)

Saudi security forces initially tried storming the complex from the ground, but stopped after some of the police were wounded, a Saudi official said.

They tried to persuade the gunmen to surrender and release the hostages before again using force.

The ministry said security forces evacuated people from the complex in two stages before the assault. In the first, 201 were ushered out, and in the second, 41 people were evacuated, the ministry said. It was not clear how many of these if any had been held by the attackers.

A spokesman for the Saudi Embassy in Washington said seven Americans were among those rescued before the assault. Several Lebanese hostages were released Saturday at the request of that country's ambassador.

[EdGreene]

Originally Posted by angelize56

Saudi: Gunmen allowed to escape
Al Qaeda blamed for attack
Monday, May 31, 2004 Posted: 11:37 AM EDT (1537 GMT)

(CNN) -- Three of four attackers who killed 22 people in the Saudi oil city of Khobar were allowed to escape because they were threatening to kill 242 people being held as human shields, a senior Saudi Interior Ministry official says.

Like 9/11, a simple but damn ingenious ploy and likely to be used over and over by terrorists everywhere since it worked so well this time.

What next: hold children hostage while they go on killing sprees? They would not actually have to be holding the children you know, just say they have them.

[angelize56]

Hi Ed: And now those three are free to plot and carry out their next attack! I can imagine though how the Saudi commanders were put into an uncomfortable position and not wanting to be responsible for the deaths of 242 more people....it did say that 241 people were ushered out....although unclear if they were really all being held hostage....they did what they thought right letting the ba$tards go. Maybe they had high hopes of killing them when they left....well they tried but the murdering low-lifes got away! Take care. angel

P.S.-I'd love to tell Al where to put his ....but I'm too much of a lady to do so!

[angelize56]

Khobar Attack Further Divides Saudi Royal House

DEBKAfile Special Analysis Updating DEBKA-Net-Weekly 157

May 31, 2004, 2:42 PM (GMT+02:00)

Oil for the lamps of terror

Saudi security has thrown up checkpoints and a dragnet for three of the al Qaeda terrorists who escaped during the helicopter-borne Saudi commando attack early Sunday, May 30, that ended the terrorist group’s shooting, hostage-taking spree. The Saudi oil company Aramco pledged to continue smooth supplies of crude to avert further price hikes when the energy markets open Tuesday, June 1.

The Saudi interior ministry attempted to draw a line on the deadly attack at the heart of the kingdom’s oil country by publishing figures - 41 hostages rescued from the Oasis residential building where 50-60 were held on the sixth floor, 22 officially reported killed, one terrorist captured and three escaped. Earlier, the Saudi figure for freed hostages was 25.

All these measures were attempts at damage control. But none of the figures hang together.

DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources which followed the episode, the second against a Saudi oil target in less than a month, are not alone in finding the figures implausible. The first announcement from Riyadh that the Saudi commando operation had ended the attack was greeted by American skepticism and the dry comment that it is not over until all the hostages are free. The US embassy in Riyadh repeated its advice to Americans to leave the kingdom, followed by London which warned that further terror attacks may be in the final stages of preparation, and Canberra.

Some blood-chilling revelations came later. In the May 1 shooting of 6 foreign oil workers in Yanbu, an American victim was dragged through the streets behind a car. In Khobar, the same savagery was meted out to a British oil executive.

DEBKAfile was first to reveal that the terrorists had separated Muslims from Westerners. Initial reports claimed 10 foreigners had been killed and 7 Saudi security guards in the first stage of the attack when an unknown number of terrorists in military uniforms burst shooting into two oil industry office compounds. They then moved up the street to the Oasis waterfront residence in Khobar Petroleum Center. This early figure was later raised to 14. But it is not clear how many died in the first round of shooting or during the hostage siege. Nine who tried to escape had their throats cut, according to an audio statement posted Sunday, May 30, on Islamic Web sites that ran a purported statement by al Qaeda’s Saudi regional chief Abdulaziz Issa Abdul-Mohsin al-Moqrin. He accused the Saudi government of opening the country to “Jews and Crusaders” and swore to continue the battle until “Crusaders are expelled from the land of Islam.”

The Al Qaeda site was understood to report also that Italian, Swedes and Japanese were “slaughtered.”

It is worth noting that Islamic web sites covered the operation closely, indicating, according to DEBKAfile’s sources, that the terrorists barricaded with their hostages were in touch on line with their controllers throughout the 25 hours of the siege.

That same al-Moqrin issued an order to his men last Wednesday, May 26, to organize in small bands of four and to continually strike at Saudi government and US targets without letup.

What was behind the Khobar attack aside from the “infidel” claptrap? In general, top al Qaeda commanders have stated their determination to overthrow the Saudi throne and shown that they trust in their ability to achieve their goal and pursue it methodically.

In Khobar, for example, DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report Al Qaeda’s target as being to sabotage the secret Bush-Saudi deal on oil prices and frighten foreigners out of kingdom. The Saudis would then fail to make good on their promise to boost production for the sake of curbing rocketing prices.

Al Qaeda’s ability to penetrate and access the well-fortified Khobar Petroleum Complext owes much to Interior minister Prince Nayef’s ambivalence on religious extremists.

On May 14, DEBKA-Net-Weekly 157 enlarged on the weaknesses of Saudi defenses against terror:

The dividing line between terrorist attacks and the succession struggle raging in the Saudi royal house is becoming increasingly hard to distinguish. The May Day attack that killed five Westerners and a Saudi officer at an oil contractor’s office in the Red Sea industrial town of Yanbu was a case in point.

King Fahd’s incapacitation by illness since 1995 leaves Crown Prince Abdullah with heavy responsibilities without the solid authority of a reigning monarch for carrying out innovative reforms or effectively fighting the terror bane bedeviling the kingdom. By common consent, the Saudi king remains in office as long as he lives. Up in the air with Abdullah’s powers is the order of succession, an invitation to interminable infighting among the royal factions.

The opposition to Abdullah is led by the King’s own Sudairi clan, which includes defense minister Sultan, interior minister Nayef, Riyadh governor Salman, a deputy minister each in the defense and interior ministries and their sons, the youngest of whom is Abdelaziz.

Abdullah has been trying to position foreign minister Saud al-Faisal, son of the assassinated King Faisal, as crown prince. But the prince generally expected to succeed Abdullah is Sultan, who is pushing 80. He has lost his enthusiasm for the job and has passed the Sudairi succession torch to Nayef who is ten years younger.

This is where the crunch comes. Nayef, as interior minister, is responsible for the campaign to halt terrorism, waged chiefly by Saudi-born Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda. His success is questionable. After the Khobar attack on Saturday, May 29, the possibility of “collusion between Saudi security forces and the terrorists” began to be mentioned openly, otherwise how could a large band of terrorists – certainly more than the four men cited officially - have gained access to the most fiercely guarded location in the kingdom but for the royal palaces? This collusion must be seen in the light of the way Nayef is pulling his punches in this crackdown against terror in order not to lose the support of influential Islamic extremist elements, including al Qaeda supporters, in his bid for the first-in-line position to the throne.

He therefore leads the royal faction opposed to Abdullah’s plan to position foreign minister Saud al-Faisal in line for the number two rank of crown prince. To this end, Nayef has been nibbling at Saud’s power base. In 2001, he sacked Saud’s brother Turki al-Faisal from the post of head of General Intelligence and banished him to London as ambassador.

In the past year, the war on terror is increasingly a burning issue in the succession race in Riyadh. The Crown Prince genuinely declared all-out war on al Qaeda and its adherents after last year’s lethal suicide attacks. Interior minister Nayef on the other hand is still playing a double game. While half-heartedly fighting the terrorists, he still engages their tribal and religious supporters in dialogue – even with the kingdom’s oil resources under direct threat.

The May 1 attack at Yanbu made Abdullah furious enough to turn against the half-brother who let it happen. Using the most vicious language in their lexicon, Abdullah and Saud accused “Zionist enemies” of orchestrating the wave of terror afflicting the kingdom. They both know perfectly well who was responsible, but they used language that would be understood by their countrymen as a backhanded insult to Nayef. They were saying that as counter-terrorist chief he was no better than a Zionist collaborator.

In the next round of insults, Nayef’s interior ministry issued a statement on May 4, naming Mustafa Abdel-Qader Abed al-Ansari as the ringleader of the Yanbu attack and reporting he was killed with his brother and two cousins in a shootout later. Stress was placed on the fact that Ansari left the kingdom in 1994 and joined the London-based Committee for the Defense of the Legitimate Rights (CDLR), a group of Saudi dissidents who advocate the monarchy’s overthrow. Ansari, the statement said, “re-entered the country in an illegitimate way and infiltrated the borders to carry out despicable plans”.

This was Nayef’s way of forcing Abdullah to shoulder part of the blame for what was really his own failure to crack down on terrorism. It was Abdullah’s secret 1996 ceasefire deal with Islamic opposition leaders in the kingdom that persuaded the CDLR Islamist opposition-in-exile to call off its campaign against the throne.

What was hinted in Nayef’s statement was that the Crown Prince’s failure to rein in the Islamist opposition was the real source of the evil for which Saudi Arabia was now paying the price.

However, one of the CDLR founders, Saad al-Faqih, quickly dismissed this aspersion. He told reporters that even if Ansari had returned home illegally, he had been a member of the group only briefly and was incapable of staging the Yanbu attack on his own.

Three key points emerge here:

A. Saudi authorities effectively shrouded the actual sequence of events at Yanbu. They also withheld the identities of the perpetrators until the Interior Ministry published its rejoinder to Abdullah’s insult. However, the complexity and ruthlessness of the attack were well beyond the powers of Ansari and his kinsmen.

According to DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s counter-terrorism sources, seven targets, including the governors’ offices in Yanbu and Jubail, were hit by squads comprised of eight to 12 men. Several Middle East intelligence sources report that Ansari and his kinsmen were not among the dead.

B If indeed Ansari and kin were indeed the attackers in Yanbu, it would be the first time a terrorist strike was committed by a Saudi opposition group which was not affiliated to al Qaeda.

The same tactic off obfuscation was used in public Saudi states on the Khobar in the hope of covering over the royal feuds that allow al Qaeda to continue its rampage. The longer the power struggle rages within the royal family, the fewer the chances of stamping out terrorism in Saudi Arabia.

The primary duelers now are Princes Abdullah and Nayef. By the time they come to an accommodation, if they ever do, it may be too late for House of Saud.

[izme]

These Arabs are loving it! No doubt in my mind

They can control so much right here at home with their on purpose lessening of production. We need to drop these Arseholes soon. And get off of our Dependance on oil. The oil industry is blaming the high demand on fuel on the latest S.U.V.s to roll out of our Terrible auto companies. They could make a 40 mile per gallon S.U.V. right now

But why? Cuts into the greed factor and everyone's need for power.

What a total joke. We must stop this lunacy and tell Saudi Arabia to go to hell

The Arab World is full of American Haters, and we must never forget that

They are loving every minute of it! This big oil game

[angelize56]

Al-Qaida Confirms Attack on 'Unbelievers'

June 11, 2004

Al-Qaida has released its version of its capture of a foreign housing compound in Saudi Arabia and execution of 22 people, confirming reports that attackers were singling out non-Muslims, reports Geostrategy-Direct, the global intelligence news service.

The organization published an account of the two-day hostage crisis on an al-Qaida-aligned Internet site.

Its account differs significantly from that of the Saudi government. The 3,000-word account was published as an interview with the leader of al-Qaida's Jerusalem Brigade, which claimed responsibility for the attack outside Khobar.

Brigade leader Fawaz Bin Mohammed Al Nashmi said Islamic insurgents targeted several sites. He denied Saudi special security forces attacked his group, claiming they arrived hours after the insurgents fled Khobar.

Al Nashmi said the first target was the Khobar Petroleum Center, which houses the offices of international oil companies. The insurgents, wearing military uniforms, stormed the center, killed a guard and began searching for Western oil executives. The first victim, Al Nashmi said, was British oil executive Michael Hamilton.

"We were asking our brother Muslims, where are the Americans? And they showed us a building where companies have offices," Al Nashmi said.

"We did find an American. I shot him in the head that exploded. Then we found a South African and we shot him, too. In our search for unbelievers, we had to exchange fire with the security forces."

From the Petroleum Center the al-Qaida attackers drove to another compound, which Al Nashmi said they easily entered.

Once again, the gunmen rounded up people and separated Muslims from non-Muslims.

Al Nashmi justified his killing of Asian nationals, including Indians and Filipinos, saying those Asian countries have been targeting al-Qaida allies.

"Thank God, we cleaned our land from unbelievers," Al Nashmi said.

The third al-Qaida target was the Oasis Resort, a compound of homes, offices and recreation facilities. Nashmi said the insurgents ate lunch at the restaurant and then began executing non-Muslims.

"We went to the first floor and we found some unbelievers," Al Nashmi said. "We slaughtered them."

The al-Qaida cell had intended to carry out a suicide attack that would destroy everybody in the compound. But Al Nashmi said Saudi authorities allowed him and his colleagues to escape to the nearby city of Dammam.

"We didn't want to survive the attack," Al Nashmi said. "But God decided that our time is not up yet. We promised God that we would be back for another battle until we die. Now the whole world knows that our goal is to clean our Muslim land."

Meanwhile, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia appealed to the international community to extradite Saudi nationals linked to al-Qaida attacks over the last year.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said Saudi authorities have linked two Saudi opposition figures based in London to the al-Qaida attack on the petrochemical and refinery complex in Yanbu in which six Western engineers were killed in May.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=38890

[Al-Firdaus]

Here is another stooge that needs to 'disappear'

Grand Mufti Issues Fatwa To Aid Western Interests
Jun 07, 2004
Source: 1924.org

A committee headed by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul-Aziz al-Sheikh, has issued a fatwa condemning the recent attacks on western targets in the Kingdom, and instructing people to inform on those preparing further attacks.

The committee urged those plotting to attack western interests to "fear God almighty and come to their senses".

One has to ask, why are such government-backed committees and Sheikhs so ready to issue fatwa upon fatwa defending western interests? They were noticeably silent about the western invasion, occupation and mass bloodshed in the Muslims lands of Iraq and Afghanistan? In fact, some of them even issued fatwa to justify these evil actions, and backed their wretched rulers assistance of the western aims.

Clearly these government-backed Sheikhs, who ally themselves with slaves of the western world, should pay attention to their own advice, "fear God almighty and come to their senses".