The US government announced murder and conspiracy charges Thursday against 13 Saudis and one Lebanese man for the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing that killed 19 American servicemen in an alleged attempt by Iranian-backed terrorists to drive US forces out of the Middle East, reported The Washington Post.
The 46-count indictment, handed down by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, says that leaders of the previously unknown Saudi “Hizbollah terrorist group” planned the bombing for three years. About 500 people, including 372 Americans, were wounded when a tanker truck exploded on June 25, 1996, shattering the military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
However, Saudi Arabia declined to comment on the indictment. Saudi envoy to the US Bandar bin Sultan told reporters that his country considers it “an internal US issue,” while investigations conducted by Saudi officials are not wrapped up yet, according to Al Jazeera satellite channel.
Attorney General John D. Ashcroft hailed the indictment as "an important milestone" toward justice in a case that has long frustrated US authorities and has served as a symbol of US vulnerability to terrorism.
The investigation was championed by top officials but was also constrained by diplomatic sensitivities as the United States sought to improve relations with Iran and to preserve its ties with Saudi Arabia.
"The indictment filed today means that next week's five-year anniversary of this tragedy will come with some assurance to victim family members and to the wounded that they are not and will not be forgotten," Ashcroft said.
The case includes no charges against Iranians, despite references in the indictment to "Iranian officials" who allegedly helped direct the Saudi Hizbollah, a Shiite Muslim group connected to the Lebanon-based "Party of God," according to the Post.
According to USA Today, the indictment does not charge any Iranians by name. None of those indicted is in US custody, and experts doubt suspects will be extradited. FBI Director Louis Freeh would not reveal how many of the suspects were in custody abroad, the paper said, but Vince Cannistraro, former head of counterterrorism for the CIA, said 10 are in Saudi jails, three are at large in Iran and the Lebanese bomb maker, identified in the indictment only as "John Doe," is free in Lebanon.
The indictment also does not mention Osama bin Laden, the fugitive Saudi millionaire suspected by US officials of involvement in the Khobar attack and other bombings.
Ashcroft said the indictment includes only "what we believe we can prove in a court of law." But he vowed to pursue charges against the unnamed Iranians who, he said, "inspired, supported and supervised" the attack, said the Post – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
