Irem,
yeah..im afraid a lot of ppl are saying that now…it is sad and reeally confusding. ppl dont really mean theyre happy when this stuff happens but think its kind of necessary for the Saudis to wake up and take agood look at what their western friends are doing to their fellow muslims. the saudis dont even realize how the americans are looting them. the US has fixed the Riyal to a 3.75 to a Dollar since the 70s…thats absurd! they make them sell oil at the price of sand! if the saudis wake up and and realize they can do alot for muslims yoday due to their stroong financial and strategic postion today a lot would change. if they make the US know they can be in control of the oil, a lot would change perhaps…
Another Cowardly Attack.
BBC journalist killed in Saudi Arabia 2nd wounded; new violence less a week after Khobar killings
The Associated Press
Updated: 7:23 p.m. ET June 06, 2004
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - An Irish cameraman working for the British Broadcasting Corp. was killed and a British reporter injured in a shooting Sunday in the Saudi capital, just hours after the foreign minister said the kingdom was doing “everything we can” to protect citizens and residents.
The BBC identified the dead man as Simon Cumbers, 36, and the injured man as BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner, 42.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw condemned the attack on the two journalists and pledged that Britain “will continue to do all we can to support the Saudi authorities in their fight against terrorism.”
The violence came less than a week after 22 people, most of them foreigners, were killed in a shooting rampage and hostage-taking in the eastern Saudi oil hub of Khobar. Saudi security forces captured one of the four attackers in the May 29 assault and are still looking for the other three.
Oil-related attack?
Many viewed the attack as an attempt by Islamic radicals to drive foreigners out of the kingdom, a move that could seriously hurt its oil industry. The attacks last week sent oil price to record highs.
The British Foreign Office has advised British nationals against all nonessential travel to Saudi Arabia. The United States has gone further, urging all of its citizens to leave the kingdom — a move criticized by Saudi officials.
The two journalists had gone to Saudi Arabia last week after the terrorist attacks.
Cumbers was a freelance journalist and cameraman who had worked for Associated Press Television News and ITN, the BBC said. After the shooting, Saudi television showed footage of a dark-haired man sitting, half-upright, in the middle of a street, two bloodstains visible on his white shirt.
Saudi police said unidentified gunmen shot the two men at 5:45 p.m. in the Suweidi neighborhood of Riyadh, an ultraconservative area that has seen several shootouts between security forces and suspected militants.
Saudi authorities vow to fight
Earlier Sunday, in Jiddah, Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal told a news conference that terrorist attacks in the kingdom will not force the government to give up the fight against “this oppressive group that is isolated legally (and) socially.”
Saud’s remarks were the first to reporters by a Saudi official since gunmen in Khobar attacked two office compounds and then took hostages at a hotel in the luxury Oasis housing compound.
About 50 people were at the hotel when the gunmen took it over. The gunmen killed at least nine hostages before they escaped in the early hours of May 30.
Faith in Saudi security shaken
The militants’ escape rattled Saudis and expatriates. Asking how the militants could slip away, many people have expressed a lack of faith in the ability of Saudi security forces to protect them.
Saud said the government is providing expatriates the same — and in some case — more protection than it is giving its citizens.
“I don’t know what other assurances can be given,” Saud said. The safety of the hostages in the Khobar siege, he said, was the first priority of the security forces on the scene, a strategy that was right even if it resulted in the escape of the hostage takers.
“It was the right priority for the security forces to give first priority to the hostages and not to attack prematurely and jeopardize their safety, their lives,” he said.
“These criminals have no inhibition against taking lives,” he added. “That this led to the escape of some of the terrorists is something that happened.”
Official account raises concerns
The official Interior Ministry account of the end of the standoff was that the three gunmen used hostages as human shields to escape Saudi commandos who had landed on the hotel. But some officials have said that the men were allowed to escape because they had threatened to kill all hostages — an account the government is sensitive about because its stated policy is not to negotiate with terrorists.
A U.S. official, speaking to The AP on condition of anonymity Sunday, said he was not aware of any deals with the hostage takers to end the crisis.
The official also said American officials had played no part in Saudi decision-making on how to end the standoff and offered no advice to the Saudi security officials in charge of the operation, as some Saudi officials had said.
He said FBI personnel were sent to Khobar, a standard U.S. procedure to determine the cause of death of an American citizen. An American died in a shooting before the hostage taking.
The U.S. official said seven U.S. military personnel, in the kingdom on a training mission, were in the compound — but not in the hotel — during the standoff and that two of them were wounded. The official said the U.S. Embassy was in contact with Saudi security about the seven during the standoff.
Another U.S. official in Washington said the Saudis were told that some members of a long-standing U.S. military mission were in the compound. So the Saudis “modified” their strategy and did not immediately storm the building, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
killing of these innocents dont make any sense from these islamic militants....and ya i agree to those people who r saying tht saudia government is a toy in front of americans...americans have been capturing the resources of middle east and the motive of these militants not to allow america capture muslims resources is right but they should do their struggle in proper way to rise their voice
but not by kiling innocents...they should attack american army base but not their civilians...
Saudi government should look at the root cause of terrorism.
thts wht i have been shouting for....we people blame these militants and suicide attackers as extremist or terrisot...but dont want to no root cause....again i will support these militants motive not to allow american getting any resscources but they should not kill any christian civilain......these arab sheikhs r the regular "constumers" of strip clubs and the like...how we can expect them to do something for their muslim brothers
A statement purportedly from al-Qaeda has said the group killed one US citizen and kidnapped another in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The statement, on an Islamist website, said the hostage would be dealt with in the same way as the US “dealt with our brothers in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib”.
The website also posted a video allegedly showing the killing of a US security contractor last Tuesday.
It came hours after another US national was shot dead in Riyadh on Saturday.
US citizen kidnapped in Saudi!
Intresting US to be treated like Guantanamo Bay prisoners. looks like the torture policies of amerikka is backfiring on them, and it does`nt surprise anyone !