An Internet statement purportedly from the Saudi wing of al-Qaida has urged guerrillas to attack oil facilities in the world’s biggest crude exporter.
“We call on all the mujahideen in the Arabian Peninsula to unify their ranks ... and target the oil supplies that do not serve the Islamic nation but the enemies of this nation,” said the statement from the Al Qaeda Organization in the Arabian Peninsula, which was dated Dec. 18.
Its authenticity could not be immediately verified.
The statement also urged militants to strike at “all foreign targets, until the Arabian Peninsula is free of these infidels and the tyrants.”
The statement comes after al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, in an audiotape posted on the Internet on Thursday, urged fighters loyal to his network to strike Persian Gulf and Iraqi oil facilities, saying it was the most powerful weapon against the United States.
Saudi Arabia is battling a 19-month wave of violence by supporters of bin Laden’s al-Qaida movement. Gunmen have killed foreigners in the Red Sea petrochemical hub of Yanbu and the oil city of al-Khobar but there have been no reports of direct attacks on oil facilities.