The Ministry of Interior has given more details on the criminal act of terrorism that took place in Al-Khobar yesterday, resulting in the deaths of 22 civilians of various nationalities and injuries to 25 others. The report confirms that the leader of the deviant group had been arrested, and that he was wounded; three others, one of them wounded, are being hunted down by security authorities.

Four militants, who were already wanted by security forces, opened fire early yesterday morning at guards and employees at an office compound, and then left. Still shooting, they hit a number of cars, one of them carrying four children on their way to school. The car caught fire, and one of the children was killed. The militants then fired at a shopping center, and then tried to enter the Oasis Residential Resort using their booby-trapped car bomb, but failed. Subsequently, they climbed over the wall and used their guns to threaten those living in the complex. This took place in crowded suburbs at traffic rush hour, with security officers in pursuit. The nationalities of the 22 killed were 8 Indians, 3 Saudis, 3 Filipinos, 2 Sri Lankans, 1 American, I Briton, 1 Swede, 1 Italian, 1 South African, and 1 Egyptian child. During the incident, which continued into the early hours of this morning, security officers evacuated a total of 242 residents from the area: 126 Asian, 41 American, 34 European, 20 Saudi, 11 Lebanese, and 10 Jordanian. Subsequently, three of the militants used hostages as a human shield to escape from the complex and steal a car. Security forces are now searching for these three terrorists.
The Interior Ministry stressed that these abnormal criminal actions do not reflect Saudi Muslim society, and pledged that the authorities will hunt down the perpetrators and those who stand behind them.

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