Saudi militants warn of attacks on Western airlines

A STATEMENT purportedly from al-Qaida militants in Saudi Arabia warned yesterday of new attacks on Western airlines, as a Saudi diplomat said the militant group was behind an attack that killed an Irish cameraman with the BBC.

"All compounds, bases and means of transport, especially Western and American airlines, will be a direct target for our coming operations in the near future," said the statement, posted on a pro-al-Qaida site on the internet.

The statement asked Muslims to keep away from Americans and other Westerners to avoid falling victim to an attack by the Islamic militant network led by Saudi-born Osama bin Laden.

It urges Muslims to stay away from Americans and Westerners "in their homes, compounds, movements and means of transport in all shapes and forms".

The statement said the warning aimed to spare Muslim blood. "We act only to protect them, their religion, honour and life.

"We also warn security forces and guards of Crusader (Western) compounds and American bases and all those who stand with America, its agents...and the tyrants of the Saudi government, and urge them to repent," said the statement, signed by al-Qaida's Organisation in the Arabian Peninsula.

"This enemy," the statement goes on to say, "must be fought. There is no other way but to fight it and eradicate it."

Meanwhile, Saudi forces hunted yesterday for gunmen who shot dead Irish cameraman Simon Cumbers, aged 36, and critically wounded BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner, aged 42, in a Riyadh area known as a militant stronghold.

Sunday's attack, the fourth in five weeks on Westerners in a kingdom battling al-Qaida militants, heightened security fears among the tens of thousands of expatriates in the world's largest oil exporter.

The attack came a week after al-Qaida militants killed 22 people, 19 of them foreigners, in a shooting and hostage-taking spree in the oil city of Khobar. The assault helped push oil prices to record highs before producers vowed to raise output. However, analysts fear another wave of al-

Qaida attacks in the oil-rich kingdom could force petrol prices to soar even higher.