Posted by NEWS on 1/6/2004, 16:26:32 Abdel Bari-Atwan's comments came after al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the 25-hour siege in the Saudi town of Khobar at the weekend. Islamic extremists killed 22 foreign workers in the kingdom, including Michael Hamilton, a British oil executive. Commandos finally brought the siege to an end on Sunday after they stormed the compound using helicopters. Mr Bari-Atwan said al Qaeda was determined to remove the Saudi Royal family from power. "They would like first to actually shake their relationship with the West, they would like to undermine their power inside Saudi Arabia, and they would like to disrupt their income, which is the oil." Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's King Fahd stated for the record that he remained fully in control of the country. "These criminal acts by deviants will only strengthen our resolve to fight terrorism," the royal said. According to press reports, Saudi authorities allowed three of the militants to flee if they agreed not blow up the compound they were holding siege to. Saudi authorities denied the allegations. Separately, the Foreign Office has warned of further terror attacks on residential compounds and diplomatic and other official premises in Saudi Arabia. They advised Britons against all but essential travel and urged extreme vigilance for all visitors.
Terrorists aim to dethrone Saudi monarchy
The editor of Arab newspaper al Quds has claimed al Qaeda is intent on removing the Saudi Royal family from power.
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