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Journalism of Courage
Terrorist strikes in Saudi Arabia and by Saudi nationals have been a dominant factor in international terrorism for a number of years 8212; and specifically targeted are the residential and office compounds where foreigners live and work. The terrorist strike on Saturday took nearly 60 persons from various nationalities hostage, out of which as many as nine are believed to have been killed by the terrorists, apparently during the period when the first rescue attempt was made and aborted on Saturday night. A second rescue attempt was made by Saudi commandos at sunrise on Sunday. Full details of the episode in which 22 hostages, including eight Indians, were killed, are yet to filter through but, even so, many questions arise from the tragedy.
The first is the issue of safety and security of the expatriate population in the kingdom, especially in the nerve centre of the Saudi oil industry at Al Khobar. A major strike launched by Al-Qaeda was expected by the US for some days, and an affiliate of the Al-Qaeda has claimed credit for this gruesome attack. As a close ally of the US, Saudi Arabia would have no doubt heightened its security measures. Obviously this has not proved to be either sufficient or effective. While the Al-Qaeda may have been aiming to trigger a further rise in oil prices and increase economic pressures on the US in a presidential election year, the implications of this event that go beyond the oil economy would need careful assessment.
