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New Saudi attack 'probable'

· Search for gunmen who killed 22
· US advises nationals to leave
· Al-Qaida 'claim' reported

Staff and agencies
Monday May 31, 2004

Britain's ambassador to Saudi Arabia warned today that another terrorist attack in the kingdom was "probable", as Saudi security forces continued their kingdom-wide search for the gunmen whose weekend rampage through the city of Khobar left 22 people dead. Sherard Cowper-Coles also confirmed that diplomats were trying to establish if a second Briton had died during the hostage-taking assault. British oil executive Michael Hamilton was shot dead on Saturday, during the early stages of the incident.
The Foreign Office in London has advised against all but essential travel to Saudi and urged visitors to take great care, but unlike the US, the British government has stopped short of recommending that people leave the country.

"We continue to believe that terrorists remain determined to carry out further attacks in Saudi Arabia, and that these may be in the final stages of preparation. The threat includes, but is not limited to, residential compounds and diplomatic and other official premises," the Foreign Office website said. "The headline advice is: come to Saudi Arabia only if your visit is essential," Mr Cowper-Coles said. "Stay here only if your presence is essential."

Part of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network has apparently claimed responsibility for the attack, in which gunmen went on a shooting spree at the offices of two oil companies before taking up to 50 people hostage in a residential compound.

News agencies reported that a claim - as yet unconfirmed - had been made on an Islamic website. The Press Association said the claim was signed by "the al-Qaida Organisation in the Arabian Peninsula". Bin Laden has vowed to destabilise the oil industry and undermine the kingdom.

The 25-hour siege was brought to an end yesterday when helicopter-borne Saudi commandos stormed the luxury compound, but three of the four attackers managed to flee.

Saudi officials sought to reassure foreign oil executives and prevent a dramatic rise in crude oil prices, which are already high. Prince Turki al-Faisal, the Saudi ambassador to London, said everything possible was being done to defeat the terrorists. Five of six cells known to be active in Saudi Arabia have been dismantled in the last year, he told BBC Radio 4.

But he warned that there was no quick fix.

"These things can take decades - in the case of your country, it took you two decades to get over the terrorism in Britain," he said. "These things will take their time. These people are willing to kill themselves to achieve their purposes. It is practically impossible to prevent them totally from taking that action." Saudi security forces had set up nationwide checkpoints in an attempt to apprehend the gunmen who escaped following the assault on Khobar, he added.