Workers pack after Saudi assault

YANBU, Saudi Arabia - American and European families packed their bags Sunday after a deadly attack on foreigners, and traumatized Saudi schoolchildren recounted how the attackers proudly summoned them to watch them drag a victim's body through the streets.

The streets of Yanbu were quiet a day after four brothers went on a rampage that killed five Westerners and a Saudi. Foreigners scrambled to book flights and Saudis comforted children shocked by the violence.

After spraying the office of Houston oil contractor ABB Lummus Global Inc. with gunfire, the four bearded men tied the body of one victim to the bumper of a car and headed for the Ibn Hayyan Secondary Boys School.

Students said Sunday that the attackers drove into their parking lot and fired into the air to attract attention to the bloodied corpse attached to their car by its right leg. "This is the president of America!" the men screamed.

"God is great! God is great! Come join your brothers in Fallujah!" they shouted, referring to an Iraqi city where U.S. troops are battling insurgents.

Students and school officials said some boys ran away crying.

Saudi troops deployed heavy weaponry Sunday to guard foreigners' houses and offices. Troops patrolled in armored vehicles.

The more than 100 employees of ABB Lummus in Yanbu, 190 miles north of Jiddah on the Red Sea, all decided to leave with their families within days, company spokesman Bjorn Edlund told the Associated Press. Most are Americans, but they also include Britons, Australians, Filipinos and Indians.

The U.S. Embassy issued a message Sunday night saying its staff would leave diplomatic compounds only for essential business "until further notice." It canceled all social events involving guests at the embassy or at the U.S. consulates in Jiddah and Dhahran.

Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the U.S. consul general, advised Americans to leave the kingdom.

The wounded - reports on the number ranged from 25 to 50 - recovered Sunday at the Royal Commission Hospital. An American lay in the intensive care unit, apparently using a respirator. Doctors wouldn't let journalists approach and didn't give details of his identity or his wounds.

The four attackers were brothers and were Saudis, a security official told the AP on condition of anonymity. He did not further identify them.

Three worked for ABB Lummus, the energy arm of multinational engineering company ABB. They reportedly used their keys to enter the ABB building Saturday morning, then opened fire.

They killed two Americans, two Britons, an Australian and a Saudi. The Americans, the Australian and one of the Britons were ABB Lummus engineers, Edlund said. The other Briton was a contractor.

Police killed the four gunmen in a shootout after a car chase.

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