KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia -- Dozens of American, European, and other hostages were released today, and a gunman believed to be the lead Islamic militant holding them was arrested, a Saudi security official said, adding that two other gunmen were "in the process of being arrested."
The security official would not comment on the whereabouts or conditions of the hostages, saying only: "It has ended. One has been arrested and two are in the process of being arrested -- they are surrounded."
A soldier on the scene said that seven gunmen had been arrested. When told that security officials were saying two were not yet in custody, he said they were on two floors that troops had not yet reached.
Neither the soldier nor the security official would comment further, with the security official saying the Saudi Interior Ministry would issue a statement on the resolution later.
The suspected militants, wearing military-style uniforms, sprayed gunfire inside two office compounds in the heart of the Saudi oil production region yesterday, killing at least 10 people -- including an American -- and then taking dozens of hostages at a luxury expatriate resort.
After an overnight standoff in the city of Khobar, gunfire broke out again this morning, and commandos were seen leaping from a helicopter onto a rooftop.
Security officials had said between 45 and 60 people were held hostage on the sixth floor of a high-rise building in the city's walled Oasis Residential Resorts complex.
Most of the captives were Westerners, including Americans. Earlier, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said three Dutch hostages had been released.
The Arab News newspaper, quoting witnesses, said the attackers had dragged the body of an unidentified victim behind their car before being surrounded by police in the building.
A statement posted on several Islamic websites claimed the attack in the name of the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Brigade but was signed "Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula." It said the attacks targeted US companies and that a number of "crusaders" had been killed.
Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar, called the attack "a cowardly and despicable act of murder."
"These terrorists have no respect for human life and no regard for the principles of Islam," he said in a written statement.
The attack was the second deadly assault this month against the Saudi oil industry and came amid oil prices driven to new highs partly by fears that the Saudi kingdom -- the world's largest oil producer -- is unable to protect itself from terrorists.
Osama bin Laden, the Saudi-born Al Qaeda leader whose group has been blamed for past terror attacks in Saudi Arabia, has vowed to destabilize the oil industry and undermine the kingdom for its close ties to the United States.
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