Khobar Towers. Unhappy Anniversary

10 years ago today Hezbollah exploded a fuel truck adjacent to Khobar Towers in Dharan Saudi Arabia This eight-story building housed United States Air Force personnel from the 4404th Wing, primarily from a deployed rescue squadron and deployed fighter squadron. In all, 19 U.S. servicemen and one Saudi were killed and 372 of many nationalities were wounded. Some of the dead were scheduled to return to the US 3 days later. For a detailed report on the event go here.

For an Air Force memorial page go to here

Air Force Staff Sergeant Alfredo R. Guerrero, was stationed as a security detail on top of Building #131. He saw the men, recognized the vehicles (80 feet from the building) as a threat, reported it , he immediately began a floor by floor evacuation of the building.

His actions saved many, many lives.

Many of the evacuees were in the stairwell when the bomb went off. The stairwell was on the side of the building away from the truck bomb, perhaps the safest location in the building.

For his actions, Staff Sergeant Guerrero was awarded the Airman's Medal, the United States' highest peacetime award for valor. The explosion was calculated to have the effect of 20,000 pounds of TNT or greater than the Oklahoma bomb.

On June 21, 2001 an indictment was issued in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia charging 19 named people with murder, conspiracy, and other charges related to the bombing. Nothing seems to have happened since.

Paradoxically 14 more Saudis have been released from Gitmo detainees to the Kingdom which makes a total of 29 this year, not counting the two who returned dead after allegedly (which the families contest) committing suicide earlier this month.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki told Arab News that officials were awaiting the arrival of the detainees. He did not provide details about their fate in the Kingdom.

Al-Turki did not give a timeframe for their release or disclose their identity

More details from the excellent JURIST website here.