Al-Qa’ida has claimed responsibility for the foiled attack on a major Saudi oil processing facility on Friday, and is warning that more attacks will follow.
In a statement posted on an Internet website, the group claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack and threatened to carry out additional attacks on oil refineries in Saudi Arabia.
In December 2004, Al-Qa’ida chief Osama Bin Laden urged his followers to attack oil installations in Gulf countries.
Al-Qa’ida has been launching attacks in Saudi Arabia against locals and foreigners, as well as financial interests, since May 2003 in order to undermine the monarchy.
Al-Qa’ida said two of its members carried out the attack on Al-Baqaiq facility in eastern Saudi Arabia, the largest oil refinery in the world.
The attackers were named as Muhammad Al-Ghaith and ‘Abdallah Al-Tweijri, both in their early twenties and both on the kingdom’s list of top 36 wanted terrorists.
They planned to detonate car bombs in the facility, but Saudi officials say they were stopped by guards at one of the gates and their cars blew up a mile away from the main entrance of the facility.
Both attackers were killed, along with two Saudi security guards.
Concerns over the foiled attacks pushed prices of crude oil up $2 to $62.91 a barrel.
Saudi Arabia holds a quarter of the world’s proven oil reserves.