In the 29 May 2004 Al-Khobar massacres, four Islamist terrorists attacked two oil industry installations and the foreign workers' housing complex, The Oasis, in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, taking more than 50 hostages and killing 22 of them. They asked the hostages if they were Christians or Muslims and let the Muslims go.

On May 30, Saudi commandos stormed the Oasis housing compound where the terrorists held the hostages. Three of the terrorists escaped, using hostages as human shields and stealing a car, while another was captured. 41 hostages were freed, 25 were injured and 22 were killed, among them 19 foreigners. The nationalities of those killed include eight people from India, three from the Philippines, two from Sri Lanka, one from Sweden, one Italian, one from England, an American, one from South Africa and an Egyptian.

Several of the hostages had their throats slit, among them was an Italian cook (35) and the Swedish cook, Magnus Johanssons (50) who had taken a job in Saudia Arabia because of the good payment he received. The terrorists' main targets were Americans; Frank Floyd, who worked as an assistant marketing director for Resources Sciences Arabia Ltd, was the only American who was killed.

Many foreigners either fled the country or were evacuated by the companies they work for after the killings as they felt it was too dangerous to stay.

A previously unknown militant group calling itself "The Jerusalem Squadron"--a Saudi Arabian al-Qaeda faction--claimed responsibility and said they were attacking "Zionists and Crusaders" who are there to "steal our oil and resources". An audio tape was released where Abdulaziz al-Muqrin, thought to be one of al-Qaida's leaders in Saudia Arabia, took responsibility. On the tape he said "among the killed was a Japanese who was slaughtered because USA have mixed his tribe into the war against Muslims". According to the Saudi Ambassador in Washington, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the goal of the terrorists was to shake Saudi Arabia's stability and economy.

External link

• News of the massacre (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/05/29/saudi.shooting/) on CNN