Excerpts: Saudi terrorism roots. Terrorist selective murders.Terrorist
operation.31 May 2004

+++ARAB NEWS (Saudi) 31 May '04:"Shoura Calls For Action Against Terror"P.K.
Abdul Ghafour, Arab News -
QUOTE FROM TEXT:
"emphasized the need to fight the ideological roots of terrorism"
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EXCERPTS:
JEDDAH, 31 May 2004 - The 120-member Shoura Council yesterday called for
effective action to counter terrorism ... and emphasized the need to fight
the ideological roots of terrorism.
[IMRA: They need only to look at official educational materials and
formal religious teachings. This isn't hijacking by an extremist minority.
It is the logical action rooted in official doctrines.]
" ... We have to study all aspects of terrorism, especially its security,
economic and ideological aspects," one member told the Shoura ... .
Meanwhile, Crown Prince Abdullah received calls from President Hosni Mubarak
of Egypt and Omar Al-Bashir, president of Sudan, condemning the attacks. The
crown prince emphasized that "such criminal acts will not affect the Kingdom
's security and stability."
The weekly Shoura meeting, chaired by its President Dr. Saleh Bin-Humaid,
condemned the Alkhobar attacks and said the terrorists wanted to undermine
the Kingdom's security, create division in society and destroy public and
private property. "Such acts will only serve the enemies of the Kingdom and
the Islamic nation," it added.
"We call for efforts to trace the roots of this deviant ideology and
discover its sources in order for men of knowledge to correct," the
misconceptions in the minds of its followers, the Shoura said in a
statement. It also urged a Shoura panel to conduct a speedy study of the
phenomenon.
[IMRA: Also calls for probing schools and other educational facilities
financed by Saudi Arabia abroad.]

+++ARAB NEWS (Saudi) 31 May '04:"Daring Raid Frees Hostages"Saeed Haider .
Molouk Y. Ba-Isa, Arab News -
QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"commandos yesterday(Sunday, May 30) jumped from helicopters in a daring
early morning operation"

" ' took a number of Western hostages, some of whom were killed,
including an Italian and a Swede whose throats
were slit,' "

"announced the death of 'ten Indians' since Saturday morning (May 2 9),
who were among the murderers of our Muslim
brothers in Kashmir.' "

" ' The mujaheen were cautious to avoid shedding Muslim blood,' "
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EXCERPTS:
ALKHOBAR, 31 May 2004 - 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.
The terrorists killed seven Asians, a Swede and an Italian after gunning
down some 13 people ... .
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
streamed out of the Oasis Compound. Forces were combing it for explosives
and fugitive militants, security sources said. ...
An Interior Ministry spokesman said the lead attacker, who was among the
Kingdom's most wanted suspects, was wounded and is in custody, but the three
other terrorists commandeered a car and escaped, using hostages as human
shields ... .
The death toll since Saturday morning was given as 22 - eight Indians, three
Saudis, three Filipinos, two Sri Lankans, an American, a Briton, an Italian,
a Swede, a South African and a 10-year-old Egyptian boy - and 25 were
injured, none critically, according to the statement.
Security forces earlier evacuated 242 residents from two buildings in the
compound.
. . .
A website statement purportedly written by Al-Qaeda's cell in the Arabian
Peninsula said the attacks and hostage-taking were conducted by "four
mujahedeen". The website message, signed by the "Al-Qaeda Organization in
the Arabian Peninsula", headed by Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin, said one of the
fighters was killed.
The mujahedeen "took a number of Western hostages, some of whom were killed,
including an Italian and a Swede whose throats were slit," the website
message said.
The statement announced the death of "ten Indians" since Saturday morning,
who were "among the murderers of our Muslim brothers in Kashmir."
"The mujahedeen were cautious to avoid shedding Muslim blood," it said.
One of the hostages said the dead hostages "had their throats cut by the
kidnappers when they tried to escape at night by the stairs."
A Jordanian hostage, Hazem Al-Damen, said the Italian and Swede worked in
the building's 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.
[IMRA: How did he know their exact ages? Were they well known to him?]
"They asked us if we were Muslims or Christians," Damen said. "As 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," he
said.
. . .
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: "We only want to hurt Westerners and Americans.
Can you tell us where we can find them here?"
Al-Hakawati said he told the man he was new in the compound. The gunman said
goodbye and left.
[IMRA: Did "Lebanese financial officer" Al-Hakawati pick up a phone and
call the police?]
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 ... . 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 - an American, a Filipino and
a Pakistani.

+++ARAB NEWS (Saudi) 31 May '04: "Twelve Hours of Terror at Oasis Compound
Molouk Y. Ba-Isa, Arab News - [IMRA: Actually, attack covered 22 hours.]
QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"They were told the rescue would come in the afternoon and they waited.
No one came....No rescue attempt could be
made until dark."

" ' He told us that they (the terrorists) were familiar to him so he
wasn't afraid' "
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EXCERPTS:
ALKHOBAR, 31 May 2004 - "They opened the door and came inside our house and
asked my seven-year-old son, 'Are you a Muslim?' When he told them 'Yes,'
they left. Forty-five minutes later I came downstairs and saw blood on the
floor. It was only then that I began to be worried that something terrible
was happening at our compound."
So begins the harrowing story of Umm Hashim, an American of Iraqi origin. On
Saturday, she and her family were forced to hide from terrorists in the
Oasis housing complex for 12 hours until the security forces were able to
mount a rescue operation.
Umm Hashim, her husband, son and daughter are among the residents of the
Oasis Compound who have been given shelter at the Al-Gosaibi Hotel until
they can decide whether to remain in Saudi Arabia or leave.
"Around 30 of our rooms are occupied by former residents of the Oasis
Compound," said a spokesman for Al-Gosaibi Hotel management, requesting
anonymity. "Guests from the Oasis Compound include Japanese, German,
Lebanese and American nationals among others. ... ."
Youngsters from families that had taken refuge at Al-Gosaibi were playing
tag in the hotel lobby and racing about while Umm Hashim discussed Saturday'
s terrible events.
. . .
"We live in the Oasis Compound just behind the Tower Building," she said.
"At 7:45 on Saturday my husband tried to leave the compound to go on a
business trip to Riyadh. When he got to the compound gate the guards told
him there were reports of gunfire in Alkhobar and advised him to return home
... He quickly came back to our house and rushed upstairs, where I was
sleeping. ... ."
It was while the couple was discussing the situation in Alkhobar that the
terrorists came into the compound and began their spree of violence. Umm
Hashim discovered later that the terrorists entered the Oasis Compound near
a small gate by the Casa Mia Italian restaurant. ...
" ... it was not until I heard our maid calling me from downstairs that I
went to see what was wrong," Umm Hashim said. "There was blood on the floor
and the front door was open. In his haste my husband had not locked it
earlier. I was trying to understand where the blood had come from when our
house began to fill with smoke. ...I just put on my abaya and we all rushed
into the street, leaving the doors of our house open."
A neighbor saw the family and frantically pulled them into her home. She
told them that there were terrorists in the compound. Umm Hashim's husband
got in his car and drove to the nearest security gate to try and find out
what was happening. It was there that he encountered the terrorists.
"Four armed men caught him and asked him for his ID," Umm Hashim related.
"They asked him if he is a Muslim. When they saw he was an American, he
quickly told them that he is of Arab origin. The terrorists told him they
weren't interested in him: they were only looking to rid the compound of
infidels. That was when the terrorists saw the Swedish chef of Casa Mia and
they shot him in front of my husband. They told my husband to go home and
hide."
Umm Hashim said it seemed that the terrorists went door to door looking for
Westerners. They broke down a door nearby but found a Muslim family within
and left them alone. In another house they didn't find anyone so they
started a fire there. The European family was hiding in a closet. When they
realized that their house was burning down, they ran across to Umm Hashim's
house whose doors were open and hid inside. ...
. . .
They were told that rescue would come in the afternoon and they waited. No
one came. In later calls they were told that the house was in a sensitive
location in front of the Tower Building where the terrorists were holed up
with their hostages. No rescue attempt could be made until dark.
"You can't imagine what it was like," Umm Hashim said. "There were four
families with children and maids all crammed into one upstairs room and
everyone was frightened. The children were crying and we were trying to keep
them quiet. We were there for 12 hours and I don't know how we got through
that time."
At 9 p.m. it was finally over.
"It was really dark and we were desperate," she said. "We heard noise
outside and then the military was there and they were rushing us out of the
house. We crammed into a dark blue armored personnel carrier. There were
some other people in there too. I think they were French. ... There were
too many people but we fit inside on top of each other and the vehicle got
us out of there. They transferred us to ambulances and took us to the
compound owner's house."
After that the family was moved to Al-Gosaibi Hotel. Now they are making
preparations to leave to Bahrain and from there they will decide what to do.
. . .
"We asked Hashim why he didn't tell us about the terrorists when they came
to the house and questioned him," his mother said. "He told us that they
were familiar to him so he wasn't afraid. Every day on the way to school he
sees too many police officers with guns. They don't frighten him anymore.
All we can hope is that because he was not scared then, that he will not be
afraid now."

Dr. Joseph Lerner, Co-Director IMRA