The 1996 Khobar Towers Bombing & The Problem Of Saudi Militancy

On June 25th 1996, two cars, one a scout vehicle and the other a truck outfitted with 5,000 pounds of plastic explosives, enough to produce a shaped charge that detonated with the force of at least 20,000 pounds of TNT, were seen in a parking lot adjacent to building #131. Building #131 which was the Khobar Towers, was being used as living quarters for coalition forces. The bombing took the lives of 19 US servicemen while injuring approximately 500. Bin Laden, whose satellite phone was tapped by the NSA, had been congratulated by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Ashra Hadi, head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Immediately after the bombing, Saudi officials rounded up potential suspects, held a quick trial and executed them. FBI officials would get no assistance from the Saudi Intelligence Ministry in their investigation. However US officials pressure the FBI to place blame on Iranian militants and Hezbollah, while Osama Bin Laden was "shielded" by the Saudi government regarding his involvement. It would later be revealed in 2001, that the CIA and Israeli intelligence may have had enough information which could have prevented the bombing from taking place.