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Saudis attack militants holding 50 hostages
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-05-30 09:41

Saudi forces on Sunday launched an attack on suspected al Qaeda militants holed up with 50 foreign hostages at a housing compound in the eastern oil city of Khobar, security sources said.

The assault came several hours after the militants killed at least nine Saudis and seven foreigners, including Westerners, in the second assault in a month on the oil industry of the world's largest crude exporter.

Witnesses heard shots and a single explosion as the gunmen, armed with grenades and machineguns, clashed with the Saudis, including special forces units. Ambulances and fire engines stood ready at the site and the wail of sirens filled the air.

"The forces have begun the raid on the militants," one security source said. It was not clear whether the raid was a full-scale attack or was aimed at wearing down the militants.

Security officials at the scene said the forces were likely to attack the militants in several stages.

The Saudis had earlier tried to storm the building where the hostages are but stopped after realizing it was booby-trapped.

The militant assault was likely to rattle oil markets and dent confidence in the kingdom's grip on security as it battles militants loyal to Saudi-born al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Security forces had surrounded the building in the luxury Oasis compound after militants on Saturday sprayed with gunfire complexes housing Western oil firms and expatriates in Khobar.

The hostages include a large number of Westerners, including Americans, security sources said. Militants were also holding Christian Arabs. A compound employee said the gunmen had asked residents their religion and then allowed Muslims to leave.

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

Witnesses said militants tied the body of the Briton, one of three employees of oil investment firm Apicorp killed, to a car and dragged it through the street before dumping it by a bridge.

A purported al Qaeda statement claimed the attack, the third on foreigners in less than a month in the birthplace of Islam.

OIL MARKET JITTERS

Oil markets have been on edge over the possibility of a militant strike disrupting oil supplies, and the situation in Saudi Arabia has already helped push prices to $40 a barrel.

"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."

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

Washington urged its citizens to leave the kingdom, a key U.S. ally that has been battling al Qaeda militants for a year.

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

Earlier the attackers opened fire at Al-Khobar Petroleum Center, believed to house offices of Western oil firms.

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 came 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.

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

 
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