The 2004 attack on oil facilities and a foreign workers' compound in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, killed 22 people; the attackers said they were attacking "Zionists and Crusaders." Through 2005 the opening described "a previously unheard-of militant group" claiming responsibility, and elsewhere called the attackers Islamist terrorists. Today's opening calls the attack the work of "four men armed with guns and bombs"; the word "militant" survives only once, and the description "Islamist terrorists" is gone entirely. A reader today does not learn that the attackers described their own target as "Zionists and Crusaders," or that the opening once called them Islamist terrorists.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01. “militant” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 1.
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The opening as it read in 2005
2004 Al-Khobar massacres , four Islamist terrorists attacked two oil industry installations and the foreign workers' housing complex, The Oasis, in Al-Khobar , Saudi Arabia , taking more than 50 hostages and killing 22 of them. They asked the hostages if they were Christians or Muslims and let the Muslims go. Saudi commandos storming the building in which the hostages are being held On May 30 , Saudi commandos stormed the Oasis housing compound where the terrorists held the hostages. Despite live dramatic footage of this, three of the terrorists had already escaped, using hostages as human shields and stealing a car. Another was captured. 41 hostages were freed, 25 were injured and 22 were killed, among them 19 foreigners. It is widely believed that Saudi security forces somehow faciliated the perpetrators' escape, given that it was broad daylight and the Oasis compound was surrounded by hundreds of armed soldiers, police officers, and reporters when the terrorists managed to escape. The nationalities of those killed include eight people from India , three from the Philippines , two from Sri Lanka , one from Sweden , one Italian , one from England , an American , one from South Africa and an Egyptian . Several of the hostages had their throats slit. Among them were an Italian cook, Antonio Amato (35), and a Swedish cook, Magnus Johanssons (50), who had taken a job in Saudia Arabia because of the good payment he received. The terrorists' main targets were Americans; Frank Floyd, who worked as an assistant marketing director for Resources Sciences Arabia Ltd , was the only American who was killed. Most of the killings took place in the compound's Italian restaurant, Casa Mia, where Amato and Johanssons worked. Some foreigners either fled the country or were evacuated by the companies they worked for after the killings, as they felt it was too dangerous to stay. Several thousand Americans and other Westerners, notably those who work for Saudi Aramco and live on Saudi Aramco's mammoth compound, did stay in the area. Westerners in Saudi Arabia are paid extremely well, get vast benefits and ample vacation time. A previously unheard-of militant group calling itself " The Jerusalem Squadron " -- a Saudi Arabian al-Qaeda faction -- claimed responsibility and said they were attacking "Zionists and Crusaders" who are there to "steal our oil and resources". An audio tape was released in which Abdulaziz al-Muqrin , thought to be one of al-Qaida 's leaders in Saudia Arabia , took responsibility. On the tape he said "among the killed was a Japanese who was slaughtered because USA have mixed his tribe into the war against Muslims". According to the Saudi Ambassador in Washington, Prince Bandar bin Sultan , the goal of the terrorists was to shake Saudi Arabia's stability and economy .1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16510423.
The opening as it stood in 2010 18 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
This is only one of several buildings on the Oasis Compound, but it's where the terrorists were holed up the longest .In the 29 May 2004 Al-Khobar massacres in Saudi Arabia , seventeen terrorists, members of the The Jerusalem Squadron , attacked third country national personnel of two oil industry installations, the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation building and the Petroleum Centre , and a foreign workers ' housing complex, the Oasis Compound , in the Gulf city of Khobar , Saudi Arabia.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 370004734.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
26°19′16.84″N 50°11′32.99″E  /  26.3213444°N 50.1924972°E  / 26.3213444; 50.1924972 On 29 May 2004, a Saturday, four men armed with guns and bombs attacked two oil industry installations and a residential compound, in Al-Khobar , Saudi Arabia —the hub of the Saudi oil industry.Over approximately 25 hours, the gunmen, describing themselves as members of the " The Jerusalem Squadron " or "Jerusalem Brigade", killed 22 and injured 25, mainly third country national personnel working in Khobar.Their targets were the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation building and the Al-Khobar Petroleum Centre, and a foreign workers ' housing complex, the Oasis Compound, in the Gulf city of Khobar.Their victims included 19 foreigners from nine countries—eight people from India , three from the Philippines , two from Sri Lanka , one each from Sweden , Italy , England , the United States , South Africa and Egypt .According to witnesses the attackers asked the hostages if they were Christian or Muslim , letting the Muslims go with a lecture, and slitting the throats of non-Muslims.One victim was tied to the back of a vehicle and dragged through the street.Saudi security forces have been criticized for not being better prepared after a similar attack on foreign workers in Yanbu' al Bahr a month earlier, and for allowing ease of movement and operation by the assailants including the escape of three of the four.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 666835287.
The opening as it stood in 2020
26°19′16.84″N 50°11′32.99″E  /  26.3213444°N 50.1924972°E  / 26.3213444; 50.1924972 On 29 May 2004, a Saturday, four men armed with guns and bombs attacked two oil industry installations and a residential compound, in Al-Khobar , Saudi Arabia —the hub of the Saudi oil industry. Over approximately 25 hours, the gunmen, describing themselves as members of "The Jerusalem Squadron" or "Jerusalem Brigade", killed 22 and injured 25, mainly third country national personnel working in Khobar. Their targets were the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation building and the Al-Khobar Petroleum Centre, and a foreign workers ' housing complex, the Oasis Compound, in the Gulf city of Khobar. Their victims included 19 foreigners from nine countries—eight people from India , three from the Philippines , two from Sri Lanka , one each from Sweden , Italy , England , the United States , South Africa and Egypt . According to witnesses the attackers asked the hostages if they were Christian or Muslim , letting the Muslims go with a lecture, and slitting the throats of non-Muslims. One victim was tied to the back of a vehicle and dragged through the street. Saudi security forces have been criticized for not being better prepared after a similar attack on foreign workers in Yanbu' al Bahr a month earlier, and for allowing ease of movement and operation by the assailants including the escape of three of the four.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 959602591.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
2004 terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia 26°19′16.84″N 50°11′32.99″E  /  26.3213444°N 50.1924972°E  / 26.3213444; 50.1924972 On 29 May 2004, a Saturday, four men armed with guns and bombs attacked two oil industry installations and a residential compound, in Al-Khobar , Saudi Arabia —the hub of the Saudi oil industry. Over approximately 25 hours, the gunmen, describing themselves as members of "The Jerusalem Squadron" or "Jerusalem Brigade", killed 22 and injured 25, mainly third country national personnel working in Khobar. Their targets were the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation building and the Al-Khobar Petroleum Centre, and a foreign workers ' housing complex, the Oasis Compound, in the Gulf city of Khobar. Their victims included 19 foreigners from nine countries—eight people from India , three from the Philippines , two from Sri Lanka , one each from Sweden , Italy , the United Kingdom , the United States , South Africa and Egypt . According to witnesses the attackers asked the hostages if they were Christian or Muslim , letting the Muslims go with a lecture, and shooting the non-Muslims. One victim was tied to the back of a vehicle and dragged through the street.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1164984470.
The opening as it stood in 2025
2004 terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia 26°19′16.84″N 50°11′32.99″E  /  26.3213444°N 50.1924972°E  / 26.3213444; 50.1924972 On 29 May 2004, a Saturday, four men armed with guns and bombs attacked two oil industry installations and a residential compound, in Al-Khobar , Saudi Arabia—the hub of the Saudi oil industry. Over approximately 25 hours, the gunmen, describing themselves as members of "The Jerusalem Squadron" or "Jerusalem Brigade", killed 22 and injured 25 in Khobar. Their targets were the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation building and the Al-Khobar Petroleum Centre, and a foreign workers ' housing complex, the Oasis Compound, in the Gulf city of Khobar. Their victims included 19 foreigners from nine countries—eight people from India , three from the Philippines , two from Sri Lanka , one each from Sweden , Italy , the United Kingdom , the United States , South Africa and Egypt . According to witnesses the attackers asked the hostages if they were Christian or Muslim , letting the Muslims go with a lecture, and shooting the non-Muslims. One victim was tied to the back of a vehicle and dragged through the street.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1297028461. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
“militant” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 1. Read the current article and compare.
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Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
