Suicide bombers attack world largest oil plant
Suicide bombers who targeted the world’s largest oil processing centre were thwarted by guards who fired on their cars, exploding both vehicles and killing the attackers.
Al Qaida purportedly claimed responsibility for yesterday’s attack at Abqaiq, the first on an oil plant in Saudi Arabia. The assault raised speculation that the militants were adopting the tactics of rebels across the border in Iraq, where the oil industry has been repeatedly targeted.
Al Qaida said two of its militants carried out the suicide attack. The claim was posted on a website frequently used by terror groups but there was no way to check its authenticity.
This “is part of the project to rid the Arabian Peninsula of the infidels”, the statement read.
Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi quickly announced that the attack “did not affect operations” and that Abqaiq “continued to operate normally”. The huge processing plant near the Persian Gulf prepares about two-thirds of the country’s oil output for export, making it a crucial link in getting Saudi crude to the market.
Crude oil futures spiked more than two dollars a barrel amid fears militants would again target the vital industry. Light sweet crude for April delivery surged as high as 63.25 a barrel before settling at 62.91, an increase of 2.37 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude futures for April delivery jumped 2.06 to 62.60 on London’s ICE Futures exchange.
The attack in Abqaiq, about 25 miles inland from Saudi Arabia’s eastern Gulf coast, took place at about 3pm – several hours after the weekly Friday prayers - a day off for Saudis, even though the facility was operating.
At least two militants were killed in the explosions, and Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television reported two security guards also died. Interior Ministry spokesman Lt Gen Mansour Al-Turki could not confirm the deaths of the security guards but said two were critically wounded with potentially lethal injuries.
The assault began when two cars tried to drive through the gates of the outermost of three fences surrounding the processing facility, al-Turki told The Associated Press. Al-Arabiya reported that the attackers’ cars bore the logo of Aramco, the state oil company that owns the facility.
Guards shot at the cars, and both vehicles exploded, al-Turki said. The explosions caused a fire that was quickly controlled, the oil minister said.
Guards then battled for two hours with two other militants outside the facility, said a Saudi journalist who arrived at the scene soon after the explosion. He said he saw workers repairing a pipeline.
For three more hours afterwards, security forces searched the surrounding area, the journalist said.
An AP correspondent at the site saw ambulances racing through Abqaiq’s streets hours after the attack. Police had set up roadblocks leading in and out of the town. There were no immediate reports of further casualties or arrests.
The plant lies several miles from a residential area where several thousand expatriate workers – including Americans, Europeans and Arabs – live. Al-Turki said no foreigners were injured in the violence.
“We have no clue so far about who are the perpetrators or to what group they belong,” al-Turki said.
The statement posted on the website said the attack was staged by al Qaida “in the war against the Crusaders and the Jews to stop them from stealing the wealth of the Muslims”. The statement was signed by Al Qaida in the Peninsula, the Saudi branch of the terror group.
Saudi Arabia has been waging a successful three-year crackdown on al Qaida’s branch in the kingdom. Security forces have killed or captured most of the branch’s known top leaders, most recently in gun battles in December, after the militants launched a campaign in 2003 to overthrow the US-allied royal family with a string of attacks.
