Three Al-Qaeda gunmen remained at large and a fourth was arrested after commandos yesterday jumped from helicopters in a daring early morning operation to rescue 25 hostages the men were holding at an upmarket compound here, the Interior Ministry said.
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The terrorists killed seven Asians, a Swede and an Italian after gunning down some 13 people during a Saturday rampage. Just after sunrise, three security force helicopters arrived and dropped the forces on the roof of the Tower Building where the hostages were held. Gunfire, heard sporadically overnight, rang out again, and within a few hours, the standoff was over. Security officials flashed victory signs as scores of residents and hostages and gunmen streamed out of the Oasis Compound. Forces were combing it for explosives and fugitive militants, security sources said. Medics were tending some hostages inside the complex, according to its manager. An Interior Ministry spokesman said the lead attacker, who was among the Kingdomâs most wanted suspects, was wounded and is in custody, but the three other terrorists commandeered a car and escaped, using hostages as human shields.
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Security forces earlier evacuated 242 residents from two buildings in the compound. Eastern Province Governor Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd, who visited the injured at the Saad Specialist Hospital in Alkhobar, condemned the âbarbaric actâ of the terrorists and said the government would assure the full safety of residents and citizens. The Saudi ambassador to the United States yesterday vowed the Kingdom would fight the terrorists with redoubled determination.
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âThe terroristsâ goal is to disrupt the Saudi economy and destabilize our country. But they will not succeed,â Prince Bandar ibn Sultan said in a statement released in Washington. âWith every desperate act of violence, our effort and resolve to destroy the terrorists only grows.â Prince Bandar separately told Fox television seven US hostages had also been rescued. âTwo are wounded and five are all right,â he said.
A website statement purportedly written by Al-Qaedaâs cell in the Arabian Peninsula said the attacks and hostage-taking were conducted by âfour mujahedeenâ. The website message, signed by the âAl-Qaeda Organization in the Arabian Peninsulaâ, headed by Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin, said one of the fighters was killed. The mujahedeen âtook a number of Western hostages, some of whom were killed, including an Italian and a Swede whose throats were slit,â the website message said. The statement announced the death of âten Indiansâ since Saturday morning, who were âamong the murderers of our Muslim brothers in Kashmir.â âThe mujahedeen were cautious to avoid shedding Muslim blood,â it said. One of the hostages said the dead hostages âhad their throats cut by the kidnappers when they tried to escape at night by the stairs.â
A Jordanian hostage, Hazem Al-Damen, said the Italian and Swede worked in the buildingâs restaurant. Damen said the other hostages were all Asians, apart from one Lebanese man. He described how two gunmen aged 20 and 21 knocked on his door at 9 a.m. on Saturday. âThey asked us if we were Muslims or Christians,â Damen said. âAs we replied we were Muslims they told us to stay in the room, adding they wanted to throw out the Americans and the Europeans. They were calm and advised us to grow beards and wear Islamic dress.â
Other residents of the compound confirmed the gunmen were selective. Abdul Salam Al-Hakawati, a 38-year-old Lebanese financial officer, said gunmen came to his house; one spotted him and greeted him in Arabic. The young man asked if he was Arab and Muslim. When he said yes, Al-Hakawati said the gunman told him: âWe only want to hurt Westerners and Americans. Can you tell us where we can find them here?â Al-Hakawati said he told the man he was new in the compound. The gunman said goodbye and left.
The drama began on Saturday morning at 7.30 when gunmen attacked the APICORP compound which houses the headquarters of the Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation as well as its housing facilities. According to eyewitness accounts, four attackers in army uniform aged between 17 and 21 arrived at the gate and asked where company staff were housed. When the two security guards tried to stop them they opened fire, killing both. Stray bullets hit the fuel tank of a GMC Suburban with four school children arriving at the gate from the housing facility, setting it ablaze. A 10-year-old Egyptian boy died trapped in the flames. A passing Briton and a Filipino employee were also caught in the hail of bullets. The Filipino later succumbed to his injuries, the first of three Filipinos to die Saturday, according to Philippine Ambassador to the Kingdom Bahnarim Guinomla. Three Filipinos were injured and three taken hostage, he said. In the second attack around 7.50 a.m., the attackers sprayed the Petroleum Center here with bullets killing three people â an American, a Filipino and a Pakistani. |