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Saudi Specialists Storm Besieged Compound
Saudi police and security stand near three bodies of victims Saturday.
Gunmen attack an oil company compound in Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
May 29, 2004

(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.

CNNArabic.com's Caroline Faraj in London contributed to this report.

 

 

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