The Associated Press Published: May 1, 2004
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Gunmen opened fire Saturday at an oil refinery co-owned by Exxon Mobil and the Saudi company SABIC in northwestern Saudi Arabia, killing at least three Americans, two Britons, an Australian and a Saudi, company officials and diplomats said.
Interior Ministry officials said three attackers also were killed. The attack killed at least three American engineers working for oil services company ABB, according to company spokesman Bjorn Edlund, based in Zurich, Switzerland. He did not identify them.
The European diplomats said two Britons, an Australian and a member of the Saudi national guard also were killed. A police captain was seriously wounded, they said on condition of anonymity.
A U.S. Embassy official confirmed Americans were among the casualties - though the official would not say if they were dead or wounded. The last attack that killed Americans in Saudi was in May 2003, when eight Americans were among 34 people killed in a series of coordinated suicide bombings in the capital, Riyadh.
In London, the Foreign Office said it could not confirm British deaths, but said British diplomats were traveling to the scene.
The Saudi Interior Ministry said three suspected terrorists and several Saudis and foreigners were killed in the shooting. In its statement, the ministry did not say how many civilians were killed or injured in the attack in Yanbu, 550 miles west of Riyadh, or provide details on nationalities of the foreign casualties.
"Four individuals entered the offices of a Saudi contractor and randomly shot at Saudi and foreign employees," the Interior Ministry said in describing the attack in a statement quoting an unidentified official. It did not identify the contractor.
The assailants fled into residential neighborhoods of Yanbu and commandeered cars, "but security forces were able to kill three of them and injure and capture the fourth." Earlier, diplomats said two suspected attackers were killed - a bomber who blew himself up and a second suspect killed by police. The ministry statement made no mention of a suicide bombing.
The U.S. Embassy official said the U.S. consulate in the Red Sea port city of Jiddah was following up the issue with Saudi authorities. Yanbu is about 220 miles northwest of Jiddah, also along the Red Sea.
A Yanbu resident said by telephone that police had set up checkpoints throughout the city, and that some of the Westerners involved in the oil industry in Yanbu were unable to reach their workplaces because of the heavy police presence.
Saudi Arabia relies heavily on 6 million expatriate workers, including about 30,000 Americans, to run its oil industry and other sectors. The Yanbu region is home to oil refineries and petrochemical plants that employ many foreigners....... Link Here