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| Arabia |
| Saudi Farm Raid Sets Off Hostage Standoff |
| 2003-09-23 |
| Saudi security forces raided a farm Tuesday, setting off a running battle with gunmen who fled into a hospital and took foreigners hostage, security officials said. Another farm, huh? The battle began when security forces raided a farm near Jizan, about 600 miles south of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, searching for a number of suspects, the security officials said. Some of the suspects escaped and took refuge in the hospital building, taking a number of hostages, they said. The officials did not say why the suspects had been initially sought. But we can guess. The Arab satellite television station Al-Jazeera quoted a witness as saying the gunmen were holed up in a hospital housing unit with the hostages. The witness, identified only as Abdallah Abu Ezz Edin, said most of the hostages were foreigners and were freed as security forces stormed in and four gunmen surrendered. Abu Ezz Edin, speaking by telephone, also said at least two security officers were killed in the battle. Being that this is Saudi with Al-Jazeera reporting, anything could have happened. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #6 Keystone cops |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-9-23 8:46:52 PM |
| #5 and whadaya know, it turns out Jizan is right on the yemen border. Which is also a logical place for an Al qaeeda shoot out. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-9-23 2:54:39 PM |
| #4 yah got not just oil but hard to transport natural gas out the wazoo, you burn it to desalinate seawater, you dont care about money, you want farms, you got farms. And IIUC parts of the southwest near Yemen get enough natural rainfall for agriculture. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-9-23 2:50:23 PM |
| #3 a farm with its own hospital? Even before that -- they have farms in Saudi-controlled Arabia? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-9-23 2:32:44 PM |
| #2 UPDATE: Several armed men, who stormed into King Fahd hospital in Jizan, located in southern Saudi Arabia Tuesday, clashed with Saudi security forces. According to media reports, during the incident several hostages, apparently hospital workers, had been taken. Following a few hours of clashes, the armed men eventually gave themselves in. According to official reports, one Saudi policeman was killed and three armed men were shot dead. Four policemen were slightly wounded. According to press sources, the incident started after Saudi security forces raided a suspected hideout in Jazan looking for "wanted men". According to SPA, the suspects intended to carry out "terrorist" acts and possessed machine guns and hand grenades. The sources added that four armed men managed to escape police officials and stormed into the hospital compound taking the hostages, before they surrendered. So, one Saudi security officer and three gunnies dead. These figures subject to change. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-9-23 10:55:21 AM |
| #1 a farm with its own hospital? what exactly were they growing? RPGs? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-9-23 10:11:50 AM |