The Bombing of Khobar Towers

According to the indictment, on the night of June 25, 1996, Al-Mughassil and several fellow Hizballah members launched their plot.� Al-Mughassil himself drove the sewage truck to the parking lot across from Building 131 with Ali Al-Houri in the cab with him.� Hani Al-Sayegh drove the Datsun scout car with Abdallah Al-Jarash in the passenger seat.� Hussein Al-Mughis drove the white Chevrolet getaway car.

Hani Al-Sayegh

After the attack, all of terrorists except two fled the country.� The Saudi Security Service eventually arrested six of them. Al-Sayegh made it to Canada and was arrested by Canadian authorities in the winter of 1997.� Curiously, he asked to meet with American investigators and denied any involvement in the Khobar Towers attack.� He apparently tried to spread disinformation, telling the Americans that there had been a rift in the relationship between Saudi Hizballah and sympathizers in the Iranian government.� He promised to cooperate with the investigation and was brought to the United States, where he attempted to seek political asylum in violation of the terms of his agreement.�

Despite Al-Sayegh's efforts to hamper the investigation, charges were brought against the group in 2001.� At least half of the accused are still at large, some living in Iran.� Their case has yet to be tried.

The defendants named in the indictment are Al-Mughassil, Al-Nasser, Al-Houri, Al-Sayegh, Al-Jarash, Al-Mughis, Ibrahim Al-Yacoub, Mustafa Al-Qassab, Sa'ed Al-Bahar, Ali Al-Marhoun, Saleh Ramadan, Mustafa Al-Mu'alem, Fadel Al-Alawe, and John Doe, an unidentified Lebanese man.� Al-Mughassil, Al-Nasser, Al-Houri, and Al-Yacoub are currently on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list.

According to the New York Times, Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden might have played a "supporting role" in the Khobar Towers tragedy.� He weighed in on the subject in a 1997 interview with a London-based, Arabic-language newspaper:� "We had thought that the Riyadh and Al Khobar blasts were a sufficient signal to sensible U.S. decision makers to avert a real battle between the Islamic nation and U.S. forces, but it seems they did not understand the signal."