[Terrorism] Worlds Largest Oil Refinery Attacked

Thankgod they didn't get past the final gate! THis could have been devastating. They tried to attack the Worlds largest oil refinery which is in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia.

I just heard about it from my parents who are in Dhahran saudi (25min from the area). They tried to dammage the oil industry, and the Financial stability of the coutry, and the world. Looks like Gas prices are going to go up a bit. (could have been worse).

Really scary thing is they tried to get in with OUR company's vehicles. NOW how in the hell did they get them is what they're tryign to get answeres for. Did they steal them? Or do they have connections with Saudi Aramco?



http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/25/saudi.attack/index.html

Guards died thwarting suicide bombing
Saudi officials say oil plant guards were killed in car bomb blasts

Two security guards who helped thwart Friday's attempted bombings at a Saudi Arabian oil-processing complex died at a hospital, the Interior Ministry said Saturday, confirming reports from the previous day.

The two would-be suicide bombers were killed in the blast that occurred a mile and a half from the facility's main gate.

The ministry announced the deaths of the two guards on the Web site of the Saudi Press Agency.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known as al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, claimed responsibility on an Arab-language Web site for the attempted bombings at the state-owned Saudi Aramco oil company plant. (Full story)

It was the first time a Saudi oil facility has been targeted.

According to the Saudi government, two explosives-packed cars made it through the outer ring of the plant's defenses. Before the attackers could go farther, they were confronted by the special forces troops who guard all major petroleum facilities.

The attack by the bombers was part of a larger plan to attack "the crusaders" and stop them from stealing the wealth and oil of Muslims, according to the information on the Saudi Web site.

The oil facility targeted is one of the world's largest, processing two-thirds of Saudi Arabia's petroleum exports.

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has repeatedly accused the West of "stealing" oil from Arab nations by not paying enough for the resource.

In December 2004, bin Laden, who remains at large, issued a statement calling for a special tax in Iraq and the Gulf, and urged his followers to attack oil facilities.

Abqaiq Bombing...

Saudi King Abdullah's picture is seen on a car ...

CAIRO, Egypt - Saudi security forces early Monday shot and killed at least five suspected terrorists believed to be involved in a foiled attack on the world's biggest oil processing complex in Saudi Arabia, a news report said.

The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television quoted Saudi security sources as saying the forces exchanged fire with the suspected terrorists for about two hours in a suburb of the Saudi capital of Riyadh, killing five people suspected of being part of the cell that attacked the Abqaiq complex.

Police said they confiscated weapons and ammunition from the house in the suburb where the suspects had been holed up, the news report said.

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia said that two suicide bombers killed in the foiled assault were on its list of most-wanted extremists.

The Saudi Interior Ministry in a statement reported by the official Saudi Press Agency identified the two as Abdullah Abdul-Aziz al-Tweijri and Mohammed Saleh al-Gheith and said both were on a list of the 15 most-wanted terrorists the kingdom issued in June.

The deaths of the two meant that only four remain at large of the list of 15. Ten have now died or been killed, and one was previously arrested.

Friday's attack, the first ever on Saudi Arabia's vital oil infrastructure, could have been devastating. Nearly two-thirds of the country's oil flows through the Abqaiq complex for processing before export.

Two suicide bombers in explosives-packed cars traded fire with police at a checkpoint before a gate in the first of three fences around the sprawling, heavily guarded complex. One bomber collided with the closed gate, exploding and blowing a hole in the fence, a senior Saudi security official said.

The second bomber drove through the hole before police opened fire, detonating his car, the official added on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Witnesses on Friday reported that security forces traded fire with gunmen outside the facility after the explosions and that a hunt for attackers continued for hours. Saudi officials have not reported the capture of any assailants.

At least two attackers and two security guards were killed, the state news agency reported.

The Saudi branch of al-Qaida, which claimed the attack, warned in an Internet statement Saturday that suicide bombers would again strike.

Al-Qaida militants launched a campaign of violence in Saudi Arabia _ bin Laden's birthplace _ in 2003.

Saudi security forces have largely had al-Qaida's branch in the kingdom on the run over the past year, arresting hundreds of suspects. They killed or captured all but one of the top 26 militants on a most-wanted list issued in December 2003, then issued the second list in June.

Saudi Arabia holds over 260 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, a quarter of the world's total. It currently puts out about 9.5 million barrels per day, or 11 percent of global consumption.

 

Al-Qaida Vows Attacks After Foiled Bid
By DONNA ABU-NASR
Associated Press Writer

11:14 PM PST, February 25, 2006

MANAMA, Bahrain — Al-Qaida on Saturday vowed more attacks a day after an attempt to bomb the world's biggest oil processing complex showed the group still can strike inside Saudi Arabia despite the arrests of hundreds of suspects.

A strike on the Abqaiq complex, near Saudi Arabia's eastern Persian Gulf coast, could have been devastating. Nearly two-thirds of the country's oil flows through the facility for processing before export.

Foiling the attack demonstrated Saudi Arabia's success in putting tough security around the oil industry, the source of the royal family's wealth, oil analysts said.

Two suicide bombers in explosives-packed cars traded fire with police at a checkpoint before a gate in the first of three fences around the sprawling, heavily guarded complex. One bomber collided with the closed gate, exploding and blowing a hole in the fence, a senior Saudi security official said.

The second bomber drove through the hole before police opened fire, detonating his car, the official added on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Witnesses on Friday reported that security forces traded fire with gunmen outside the facility after the explosions and that a hunt for attackers continued for hours. Saudi officials have not reported the capture of any assailants.

At least two attackers and two security guards were killed, the state news agency reported. Eight foreign workers at the facility -- all from South Asia -- were wounded, a former Aramco employee told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Aramco is the state oil company that owns the facility.

It was the first attack on Saudi Arabia's vital oil infrastructure. The Saudi branch of al-Qaida, which claimed the attack, warned in an Internet statement Saturday that suicide bombers will target more oil facilities.

"There are more like them who are racing toward martyrdom and eager to fight the enemies of God," the posting said. "You will see things that will make you happy, God willing."

In a later statement, the group said it carried out the attack "based on the instructions of our leader, Osama bin Laden" and identified the two slain suicide bombers as Abdullah Abdul-Aziz al-Tweijri and Mohammed Saleh al-Gheith.

It denied that the bombing was foiled and gave its own account of the attack. It claimed that Al-Qaida fighters overcame guards at the gate, killing three and forcing others to flee. The fighters then opened the gate for a car that entered and blew up, it said, without specifying what the blast targeted.

The authenticity of the statements could not be independently confirmed.

Crude oil prices jumped by more than $2 a barrel on world markets after the attack. But Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi swiftly issued assurances that the violence did not affect oil operations.

On Saturday he stressed to U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez at a meeting in Riyadh that the kingdom would "ensure the flow of oil despite the terrorist threats."

Al-Qaida militants launched a campaign of violence in Saudi Arabia -- bin Laden's birthplace -- in 2003. Attacks on oil infrastructure could represent a new tactic.

Previous targets were peripherally related to the oil industry -- expatriate oil workers living and working in the kingdom. Bin Laden first called for attacks on oil facilities in December 2004.

Analysts and diplomats said Friday's events were proof that increased security at oil installations has paid off for the Saudi kingdom.

"It's a success story," said Fareed Mohamedi, head of country analysis at Washington-based PFC Energy. "It's a bit too close for comfort, but it certainly shows that they can repel these types of attacks."

Mohamedi said the Saudi government typically places remote sensors in the desert surrounding oil complexes and several fences around the facilities themselves. About 25,000 security personnel man checkpoints on roads leading to the facilities and gates into the compounds.

Saudi security forces have largely had al-Qaida's branch in the kingdom on the run over the past year, arresting hundreds of suspects. They killed or captured all but one of the top 26 militants on a most-wanted list issued in December 2003, then did the same with 10 of the 15 on a second list issued in June.

Friday's attack was the first major strike since December 2004, when five gunmen attacked the U.S. Consulate in the Saudi port city of Jiddah. Five consulate employees from the Middle East and Asia and four attackers were killed. Ten people were wounded.

Analysts said it was too early to say if the Abqaiq bombing signaled a new, aggressive campaign. But the choice of oil facilities should increase concerns, they said.

"If the Saudi system goes down, then you will have a real problem, and for oil prices the sky is the limit," Mohamedi said. "You're attacking the absolute heart of the world oil system."

Saudi Arabia holds over 260 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, a quarter of the world's total. It currently puts out about 9.5 million barrels per day, or 11 percent of global consumption.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationw...op11feb25,1,1299575.story?coll=sns-ap-topnews

 

Another Article talking about the financial side.....

Saudi Arabia: Anatomy of the Abqaiq Bombing Attempt
February 24, 2006 16 42 GMT

In the afternoon of Feb. 24, Saudi security forces opened fire on three cars as they sped toward the Abqaiq oil collection and processing facility in eastern Saudi Arabia. The cars, reportedly in the livery of state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco, were believed to be carrying suicide bombers intent on attacking the facility. The attackers were able to breach the facility's outer perimeter before security forces fired at them. At least two of the cars exploded between the primary and secondary security fences, and none was able to enter the facility, according to Saudi officials.

The attack comes less than two weeks after the U.S. Embassy in Bahrain issued a Warden Message warning of possible militant attacks in the region, and three days after the Australian government issued a similar travel advisory. An attack coming soon after such warnings fits an observed pattern of militant operations on the Arabian Peninsula.


The attack also comes amid repeated calls from al Qaeda's highest echelon to target petroleum infrastructure. Osama bin Laden first alluded, in passing, that oil-related targets should be attacked in his audio message from December 2004. More recently, al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri issued a direct call for attacks against the oil industry in a videotape released in December 2005. In that message, when al-Zawahiri told jihadists to target the "Muslims' stolen oil," he was not warning the oil industry or the West but rather was likely giving al Qaeda supporters in the Middle East targeting guidance. The statement did not say where the oil infrastructure attacks should take place; however, the area where al Qaeda followers could most feasibly launch such attacks is the Middle East.

Although the Feb. 24 attack was thwarted in its initial phase, it could have followed several scenarios. The attempt at Abqaiq appears to have used tactics that al Qaeda in Iraq has employed to attack fixed, heavily defended targets such as the Iraqi Interior Ministry, the U.S. base at Abu Ghraib and Baghdad's Palestine Hotel, which houses Westerners near the Green Zone. In those assaults, vehicle-borne suicide bombers were used in the same way artillery is used in conventional warfare: to soften up defenses before an assault. Of the three vehicles used at Abqaiq, the first could have been designated to breach the perimeter, thereby making a gap in the defenses to allow the other two vehicles to enter the facility and attack more valuable targets inside.

An alternate scenario has all three vehicles charging the facility's defenses simultaneously, possibly to disorient the defenders and create gaps in the perimeter for a follow-on assault team armed with assault rifles to enter the facility. Once inside, that team could have planted satchel charges or other ordnance in critical areas in attempt to disrupt the facility's operations. A third -- but least likely -- scenario has all three vehicles full of assault teams ready for a direct attack against the facility.

In Iraq, this kind of attack is rarely successful, as the defenders have a great advantage in a frontal assault, and the tactic has largely been abandoned by the insurgents. Though the assault against the Abqaiq facility could have caused serious damage, it is unlikely to have had a significant, long-term effect on the facility's production capacity. The facility itself covers about 1 square mile and has multiple levels of security that prevent unauthorized personnel from getting within 1,000 yards of the facility itself.

Though the use of Aramco cars -- probably to get close enough to the facility to attack without attracting undue attention -- shows a certain degree of planning, the actual attack appears to have been poorly executed. It occurred in the middle of the day, though a nighttime attack would have more likely caught defenders off guard. Also, reports that the cars were burned out rather than vaporized by explosions seem to indicate that the vehicles carried insufficient explosives to cause significant damage to the sprawling Abqaiq facility.

In the last attempted attack in Saudi Arabia, the December 2004 attack against the Interior Ministry in Riyadh, multiple vehicle-borne suicide bombers were used, but the that attack also failed. This shows that the Saudis might have been effective in their campaign against al Qaeda on the peninsula, but have not eliminated it.