An official source at the Interior Ministry announced that the terrorist attacks in Al-Khobar city on Saturday morning resulted in twenty-two deaths and the injury of a further twenty-five victims.
Saudi security forces wounded and arrested one of the militants responsible for the attacks and are hunting down three others.
The source said that the four militants who carried out Saturday’s attacks, who were wanted by Saudi security authorities for previous criminal activities, began firing shots at the security guards of a company in Al-Khobar, entered the company headquarters and shot at employees. They then departed the headquarters. Outside the building, they shot randomly, hitting a number of cars, one of which was transporting four children to school. The said car was destroyed in a blaze, resulting in the death of one passenger.
The militants went on to fire gunshots at a shopping centre and attempted to detonate a car bomb at King Abdul Aziz Oasis compound in Al-Khobar city. They ascended the compound’s fences and threatened inhabitants with their weapons. The criminals were pursued by security forces in crowded suburbs during rush-hour traffic.
Three of the militants took hostages at gunpoint, holding them for cover as they exited the compound and stole a citizen’s car to make a getaway. Security authorities are hunting down the men, until all are detained and punished.
While security forces were pursuing the militants, expatriates at the compounds, who were detained by the men, were evacuated from residential villas. A total of two hundred and one expatriates were evacuated, including: 41 Americans; 20 Britons; 20 Saudis; 10 Dutch; 10 Lebanese; 8 Japanese; 8 Jordanians; 4 French and 80 Asians. The second phase of evacuation involved forty-one expatriates: 21 Indians; 2 Jordanians; 10 Bengalis; 5 Sri Lankans; 1 Lebanese; 1 Pakistani, and 1 Filipino. The evacuation operation continued until Sunday morning.
The victims of the attacks included: 8 Indians; 3 Saudis; 1 Briton; 2 Sri Lankans; 1 American; 1 Egyptian; 1 Swede; 1 Italian; 1 South African, and 3 Filipinos.
The Interior Ministry stressed its determination to ensure that the militants are hunted down and severely punished for their heinous crimes, which violate Islamic, Saudi and all humanitarian values.
Source: SPA
