seruriermarshal
05-31-2004, 10:11 AM
Saudi security forces allowed some kidnappers in the bloody weekend attack on a residential compound to flee because they threatened to blow up the building, according to reports.
At least 22 people died in the attack, including a Briton whose body was dragged through the streets of the port city of al-Khobar.
One employee of the Oasis compound said today that a hostage heard the gunmen shouting that they would release their captives if the security forces let them go.
"The security forces refused at the beginning but then apparently relented," he said.
"There was a kind of a deal reached to let the hostages go free, though some hostages had already been killed." Nine hostages died after their throats were cut.
This employee's account could not be independently confirmed as Saudi authorities have not provided many details on how the stand-off ended when security forces stormed the building yesterday, freeing 41 captives.
Only one of the four attackers was captured and a series of nationwide checkpoints has been set up in the kingdom to try and capture the remaining three.
The Interior Ministry said the arrested militant, who was wounded, was the ringleader of the assault and "an important target".
Authorities were searching a hotel in the Oasis compound today for evidence and any explosives left behind by suspected al-Qaeda militants.
Blood stains, glass shards, bullet holes and evidence of grenade blasts scarred the compound, according to one employee who had been inside to assess the damage.
The official death toll from the 25-hour ordeal was eight Indians, three Filipinos, three Saudis, two Sri Lankans, an American, a Briton, an Italian, a Swede, a South African and a 10-year-old Egyptian.
The worst terror attack on Saudi soil in a year and the second this month to target its oil industry began on Saturday morning, when militants in military-style dress opened fire inside two oil industry office compounds in the Gulf city of Khobar.
They then moved up the street to the Oasis, an upscale resort and residence with apartments, villas and hotels, where they took at least 50 hostages.
Diane Reed, an American woman living at the Oasis, was receiving treatment today at a Khobar hospital for a gunshot wound to her leg. She said she was inside her villa when the trouble began.
"It happened very quickly. ... I heard some shots," said Ms Reed, lying in her hospital bed. The hospital administrator and hospital security guards arrived and ordered journalists to leave before she could finish.
A statement released yesterday and attributed to al-Qaeda’s chief in the Saudi region, Abdulaziz Issa Abdul-Mohsin al-Moqrin, said that the attack aimed to punish the kingdom for its oil dealings with the United States and to drive "crusaders" from "the land of Islam".
Saudi Arabia relies on 6 million expatriate workers to run its oil industry and related sectors.
The attack was expected to have some affect on world oil markets, where prices have been at new highs, but analysts have said that jitters shouldn’t be too strong since no hard oil facilities, such as refineries, were targeted.
Most oil markets were closed today, but one open in Tokyo indicated traders are concerned, with crude oil futures up.
A Tokyo based oil broker told Dow Jones Newswires that the al-Khobar attack fueled fears of more such violence in oil producing nations at a time when global crude supply remains tight.
From (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1-1129544,,00.html)
At least 22 people died in the attack, including a Briton whose body was dragged through the streets of the port city of al-Khobar.
One employee of the Oasis compound said today that a hostage heard the gunmen shouting that they would release their captives if the security forces let them go.
"The security forces refused at the beginning but then apparently relented," he said.
"There was a kind of a deal reached to let the hostages go free, though some hostages had already been killed." Nine hostages died after their throats were cut.
This employee's account could not be independently confirmed as Saudi authorities have not provided many details on how the stand-off ended when security forces stormed the building yesterday, freeing 41 captives.
Only one of the four attackers was captured and a series of nationwide checkpoints has been set up in the kingdom to try and capture the remaining three.
The Interior Ministry said the arrested militant, who was wounded, was the ringleader of the assault and "an important target".
Authorities were searching a hotel in the Oasis compound today for evidence and any explosives left behind by suspected al-Qaeda militants.
Blood stains, glass shards, bullet holes and evidence of grenade blasts scarred the compound, according to one employee who had been inside to assess the damage.
The official death toll from the 25-hour ordeal was eight Indians, three Filipinos, three Saudis, two Sri Lankans, an American, a Briton, an Italian, a Swede, a South African and a 10-year-old Egyptian.
The worst terror attack on Saudi soil in a year and the second this month to target its oil industry began on Saturday morning, when militants in military-style dress opened fire inside two oil industry office compounds in the Gulf city of Khobar.
They then moved up the street to the Oasis, an upscale resort and residence with apartments, villas and hotels, where they took at least 50 hostages.
Diane Reed, an American woman living at the Oasis, was receiving treatment today at a Khobar hospital for a gunshot wound to her leg. She said she was inside her villa when the trouble began.
"It happened very quickly. ... I heard some shots," said Ms Reed, lying in her hospital bed. The hospital administrator and hospital security guards arrived and ordered journalists to leave before she could finish.
A statement released yesterday and attributed to al-Qaeda’s chief in the Saudi region, Abdulaziz Issa Abdul-Mohsin al-Moqrin, said that the attack aimed to punish the kingdom for its oil dealings with the United States and to drive "crusaders" from "the land of Islam".
Saudi Arabia relies on 6 million expatriate workers to run its oil industry and related sectors.
The attack was expected to have some affect on world oil markets, where prices have been at new highs, but analysts have said that jitters shouldn’t be too strong since no hard oil facilities, such as refineries, were targeted.
Most oil markets were closed today, but one open in Tokyo indicated traders are concerned, with crude oil futures up.
A Tokyo based oil broker told Dow Jones Newswires that the al-Khobar attack fueled fears of more such violence in oil producing nations at a time when global crude supply remains tight.
From (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1-1129544,,00.html)