It was not the bloodiest of terrorist out-rages, nor the boldest, nor the most competently executed. But the attack on oil companies and a smart housing compound in the seaside city of Khobar was in some ways the most disturbing of the string of attacks that has shaken Saudi Arabia since May last year. More than previous incidents, it has focused minds on the stability of a country that is the wellspring of both the Muslim faith and a quarter of the world's oil. The attack began on the morning of May 29th, when a group of gunmen shot down security guards and entered two office complexes, searching for and murdering anyone who looked vaguely western. Finding few suitable victims, they took off, at one point dragging a bound man behind their car, and at another shooting at a vehicle filled with children on their way to school. Its fuel tank exploded, incinerating a ten-year-old Egyptian boy.
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