The 11 defendants are accused of playing a role in the May 1, 2004 assault on the petrochemical engineering office of ABB Lumus Global Inc. that left two Americans, two Britons, an Australian, a Canadian and a Saudi soldier killed. Four militants also died.
Speaking to Arab News Tuesday, Muhammad Al-Balawi, a member of the Yanbu Municipal Council, said the beginning of the trial was the first step toward achieving justice and righteousness.
He said the fact that 11 defendants were on trial was proof of the strength, potential and courage of the security forces.
"We are looking forward to a fair trial," he added.
Saleh Oudah, an elderly Yanbu resident, recalled vividly that fateful day: "We were surprised to hear an intense gunfire from a number of cars roaming the streets of Yanbu Industrial City before moving to Yanbu Al-Bahar. The incident ended with an intense response from security forces that shocked locals who were not used to such a terrifying scene."
Oudah recalled that "hundreds" were injured and that the terrorists took hostages.
"We had never before experienced bullets flying over our heads," he said. "InshaAllah the culprits will receive the punishment they deserve."
Abdullah Al-Alwani, an eyewitness to the incident, recalled that the terrorists had commandeered a border patrol vehicle and were taking potshots at people in the streets.
"I could not believe what I was seeing," he said. "I saw a fleet of cars driven by the security forces and the special emergency units chasing a jeep at the eastern gate of the municipality. Three persons came out of the jeep. They stopped a private car and asked the driver at gunpoint to step out. The fourth person in the jeep was dead. Before the jeep could speed away, the security forces opened a volley of fire at it. As a result, the jeep caught fire near a gas station on Ali bin Abi Talib Street. One of the four militants was tossed out of the vehicle. The rest burned inside the vehicle."
One of the security officers involved in the incident spoke to Arab News preferring anonymity.
"At about 6:40 a.m. we were informed by the operations room about an intensive exchange of fire in Yanbu Industrial City," he recounted. "Before our arrival, the terrorists managed to kill four foreigners — two Americans and two Britons. They then headed toward the residential area of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, shooting randomly in all directions. They killed an Australian expatriate who was standing in front of an international school. They were on their way to the Holiday Inn Hotel, but security men there prevented them from entering. They hijacked a car belonging to the Border Patrol at King Fahd Industrial Port. They then proceeded toward downtown. We killed one of them inside the car. The three others got out and seized a private car. They boarded the car but left the side door open. One of them, Mustapha Al-Ansari, was firing at us from that door. We fired back fiercely. We hit the car, it started to burn. Al-Ansari was thrown out of the car enveloped in flames. The driver and the man sitting next to him then caught fire." Al-Ansari was taken to hospital and died a few hours later.
Saleh Al-Johani, another resident of Yanbu, called for severe punishment for the accused: "My children were on their way to their school. They were too terrified to go to school the next day. Thank God nobody of us was hurt. We were all terrified."
