Saudis stunned by Khobar killings of foreigners

8.30pm


KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia - Saudis were shaken to the core on Sunday after Muslim militants killed 16 people and held some 50 foreigners hostage in Khobar, a modern oil city traditionally tolerant of expatriates.

A sombre mood hovered over the lavish villas and expatriate compounds along with the rest of the city 400km from Riyadh, capital of the austere Muslim kingdom.

"This makes you so depressed. This is something alien to Saudi. We are stunned and very upset," Saeed al-Mansour, a 22-year-old student, said.

Many Khobar residents, who for years blended easily with expatriate oil workers, said they feared Saturday's attack, in which nine Saudis and seven foreigners were killed, would drive expatriates to pack up and go.

Tens of thousands of Western workers are vital to a country which is the world's biggest oil exporter and a key US ally.

Residents had watched apprehensively from rooftops as Saudi commandos stormed the building where the militants were holding foreign hostages, mainly Westerners, a day after they sprayed gunfire at oil firms and housing compounds.

Security officials said most of the hostages were rescued and that the leader of the group and other gunmen were arrested.

"They (militants) are barbarians who have no mercy," said Mohammed al-Katry, 29. "They want to wreak havoc and destroy everything that is good. They crave death and know they are going to die so they want to kill as many people as possible."

The hostage-taking is a dramatic and unprecedented twist in the kingdom's year-long battle against followers of Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group.

The US-led war in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have fuelled anti-Western sentiment among many Saudis in the Gulf state which follows an austere brand of Islam.

However, in Khobar and other relatively liberal cities such as Jeddah, Saudis accommodate foreigners and their customs.

"This is new to us. We're only used to stability and security and now we face terrorism. This is inhumane. What have these people done to die like this?" said Mohammed al-Ajami.

"Nobody accepts these acts. This is revolting," added student Ashraf Abdallah. "These militants are outcasts and they don't represent our religion and our morals. We are frightened for our country."

Khobar streets were sealed off and the luxury Oasis housing complex resembled a war zone. Tranquillity was shattered on Saturday after militants sprayed gunfire at Western oil firms and compounds in the second attack on vital economic sites.

Some Saudi nationals and newspapers criticised security forces for failing to protect residents after a year-long battle with al Qaeda-linked militants since a string of suicide bombings in Riyadh last year killed 50 people.

"The government must put a stop to this before terrorists drown us in this country," journalist Abdulaziz said in Riyadh.

"This is more evidence that religious institutions should not cross the line and should leave God's creatures to act as they want," he said, referring to the strict religious establishment blamed in the West for fostering militancy.

"We must find out...why we did not prepare against such attacks after citizens and residents became a target of these terrorists," leading local daily al-Watan said in an editorial.

- REUTERS