Attacks prompt exodus of foreigners

After spraying the office of Houston-based oil contractor ABB Lummus Global Inc. with gunfire, the four bearded men tied the body of one of their victims to the bumper of a car and headed for the Ibn Hayyan Secondary Boys School.

Students said the attackers drove into their parking lot and fired into the air to attract attention to the bloodied corpse attached to their car by the right leg. "This is the president of America!" the men screamed. "God is great! God is great! Come join your brothers in Fallujah!" they shouted, referring to an Iraqi city where US troops are battling insurgents.

Students and school officials said some of the boys ran crying from the scene.

"I was shocked and terrified when I saw them. I just froze. I didn't know what to do," Rayyan said. "This is not right. This is un-Islamic."

Saudi troops deployed heavy weaponry yesterday to guard foreigners' houses and offices. Troops patrolled the empty streets in armored vehicles as officials vowed to hunt down terrorists who have struck four foreign targets in the past year.

The more than 100 employees of ABB Lummus in Yanbu all decided to leave with their families, company spokesman Bjorn Edlund said. Most of the employees are Americans, but they also include Britons, Australians, Filipinos, and Indians. "Not surprisingly, everyone wanted to go home," Edlund said.

The US Embassy issued a message last night saying its staff would leave the diplomatic compounds only for essential business. It canceled social events involving guests at the embassy or at the US Consulates in Jiddah and Dhahran.

Britain's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Sherard Cowper-Coles, visited Yanbu, 220 miles north of Jiddah, to insist that the attack would not cause "a mass exodus" of foreigners.

In their homes, however, dozens of Westerners prepared to leave.

"It's not safe here anymore. I don't think I can stay any longer," said a Canadian engineer, walking inside a foreigners' compound with his young daughter. Like many Westerners, he refused to give his name out of concern for his safety.

Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the US consul general, advised Americans to leave the kingdom.

The wounded -- reports on the number ranged from 25 to 50 -- were treated yesterday at Royal Commission Hospital.

The four attackers are brothers and Saudis, a security official said on the condition of anonymity. He did not identify them further.

Three of the men reportedly worked for ABB Lummus, the energy arm of the multinational engineering company ABB. They used their keys to enter the ABB building Saturday morning, then opened fire, officials said.

They killed two Americans, two Britons, an Australian, and a Saudi. Police killed the four gunmen in a shoot-out.