97-425: The Khobar Towers bombing was an attack on part of a housing complex in the city of Khobar , Saudi Arabia , near the national oil company ( Saudi Aramco ) headquarters of Dhahran and nearby King Abdulaziz Air Base on 25 June 1996. At that time, Khobar Towers was being used as living quarters for coalition forces who were assigned to Operation Southern Watch , a no-fly zone operation in southern Iraq, as part of
194-463: A Datsun scout vehicle, another car and the bomb truck, to a parking lot adjacent to building #131. A chain link security fence and a line of small trees separated the car park, used for a local mosque and park, from the housing compound. The perimeter of Building #131 was approximately 72 feet (22 m) from the fence line, with a perimeter road between the fence and building which was often used by military personnel for jogging. The first car entered
291-677: A decision to punish Iran. By the time Saudi Arabia and the FBI concluded their investigations, Iranians had elected a new president, Mohammad Khatami , in May 1997. Khatami surprised the international community by urging a “dialogue of civilizations” with the West in order to overcome almost two decades of animosity and Iranian isolation. Clinton, who had initially taken a stand toward the Islamic Republic, including imposing major economic sanctions on
388-807: A document shows that 81 years before the arrival of the Al Khalifa, one of the sheikhs of the Al Bin Ali tribe (an offshoot of the Bani Utbah) had bought a palm garden from Mariam bint Ahmed Al Sanadi in Sitra island. The Al Bin Ali were the dominant group controlling the town of Zubarah on the Qatar peninsula, originally the centre of power of the Bani Utbah. After the Bani Utbah gained control of Bahrain,
485-731: A general nature, and very specific reports" of an extant and present threat to the Khobar Towers complex. The CIA was blamed for misjudging the bomb-making capabilities of Saudi militants, arbitrarily deciding that no bomb could exceed the size of that used in the November 1995 bombings in Riyadh (200 lbs). According to official U.S. government estimates, the Khobar bomb weighed in at approximately 5,000 pounds. American commanders were also blamed, as they had not taken every precaution advised by
582-576: A group of youths threw stones at female runners for running bare-legged during an international marathon. The resulting clash with police soon grew into civil unrest. A popular uprising occurred between 1994 and 2000 in which leftists, liberals and Islamists joined forces. The event resulted in approximately forty deaths and ended after Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa became the Emir of Bahrain in 1999. He instituted elections for parliament, gave women
679-587: A large statue to Awal in Muharraq , although it has now been lost. For many centuries after Tylos , Bahrain was known as Awal . By the 5th century, Bahrain became a centre for Nestorian Christianity , with the village Samahij as the seat of bishops. In 410, according to the Oriental Syriac Church synodal records, a bishop named Batai was excommunicated from the church in Bahrain. As a sect,
776-642: A letter to the League of Nations , a move that prompted Belgrave to undertake harsh measures including encouraging conflicts between Shia and Sunni Muslims to bring down the uprisings and limit the Iranian influence. Belgrave even went further by suggesting to rename the Persian Gulf to the "Arabian Gulf"; however, the proposal was refused by the British government. Britain's interest in Bahrain's development
873-592: A number of protests and general strikes. In 1965 a month-long uprising broke out after hundreds of workers at the Bahrain Petroleum Company were laid off. On 15 August 1971, though the Shah of Iran was claiming historical sovereignty over Bahrain, he accepted a referendum held by the United Nations and eventually Bahrain declared independence and signed a new treaty of friendship with
970-516: A remote and highly secure Royal Saudi Air Force installation near Al-Kharj in central Saudi Arabia, approximately 70 miles from Riyadh. American, British, and French military operations would continue at Prince Sultan until late-2003, when French forces withdrew and American and British operations shifted to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar . The bombing of Khobar Towers, according to the Saudi government,
1067-635: A significant improvement in relations remained unfulfilled. In June 1999, Clinton authorized what he later called a “Hail Mary,” sending a direct message to Khatami. Delivered by Omani Foreign Minister Yousef bin Alawi in July, the letter attempted to achieve multiple purposes: to signal Tehran that Washington was open to a rapprochement but also to make clear that the United States held the IRGC responsible for
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#17327825257911164-544: A small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands , centered on Bahrain Island which makes up around 83 percent of the country's landmass. Bahrain is situated between Qatar and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia , to which it is connected by the King Fahd Causeway . The population of Bahrain is 1,501,635 as of May 14, 2023, based on elaborations of
1261-591: A three-month period in order to ease the financial pain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic . Bahrain assailed the movement as an Iranian plot, and banned opposition parties, put civilians in front of military courts and jailed dozens of peaceful political opponents, eliciting harsh international criticism. "Ten years after Bahrain's popular uprising, systemic injustice has intensified and political repression targeting dissidents, human rights defenders, clerics and independent civil society have effectively shut any space for
1358-617: A three-month state of emergency. The government then launched a crackdown on the opposition that included conducting thousands of arrests and systematic torture . Almost daily clashes between protesters and security forces led to dozens of deaths . Protests, sometimes staged by opposition parties, were ongoing. More than 80 civilians and 13 policemen have been killed as of March 2014 . According to Physicians for Human Rights , 34 of these deaths were related to government usage of tear gas originally manufactured by U.S.-based Federal Laboratories . The lack of coverage by Arab media in
1455-501: A truck bomb. The group now had about 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) of plastic explosives, enough to produce a shaped charge that detonated with the force of at least 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) of TNT, according to a later assessment of the Defense Special Weapons Agency. The power of the blast was magnified several ways. The truck itself shaped the charge by directing the blast toward the building. Moreover,
1552-491: Is not confined to India, but extends to Arabia." The Greek historian Theophrastus states that much of Bahrain was covered by these cotton trees and that Bahrain was famous for exporting walking canes engraved with emblems that were customarily carried in Babylon. Alexander had planned to settle Greek colonists in Bahrain, and although it is not clear that this happened on the scale he envisaged, Bahrain became very much part of
1649-741: Is offered by the al-Ahsa region, which suggests that the two seas were the Great Green Ocean (the Persian Gulf) and a peaceful lake on the Arabian mainland . Until the late Middle Ages , "Bahrain" referred to the region of Eastern Arabia that included Southern Iraq , Kuwait , Al-Hasa , Qatif , and Bahrain. The region stretched from Basra in Iraq to the Strait of Hormuz in Oman . This
1746-401: Is the dual form of Arabic word Bahr (meaning literally " sea "), so al-Bahrayn originally means literally "the two seas ". However, the name has been lexicalised as a feminine proper noun and does not follow the grammatical rules for duals; thus its form is always Bahrayn and never Bahrān , the expected nominative form. Endings are added to the word with no changes, as in the name of
1843-617: The Al Khalifa royal family , with Ahmed al Fateh as Bahrain's first hakim . In the late 1800s, following successive treaties with the British , Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1971, it declared independence . Formerly an emirate , Bahrain was declared a semi-constitutional monarchy in 2002, and Article 2 of the newly adopted constitution made Sharia a principal source for legislation. In 2011,
1940-609: The Baharna may be the Arabised "descendants of converts from the original population of Christians (Aramaeans), Jews and Persians inhabiting the island and cultivated coastal provinces of Eastern Arabia at the time of the Muslim conquest ". The sedentary people of pre-Islamic Bahrain were Aramaic speakers and to some degree Persian speakers, while Syriac functioned as a liturgical language . Muhammad 's first interaction with
2037-729: The House of Khalifa , Al-Ma'awdah, Al-Buainain, Al-Fadhil, Al-Kuwari, Al-Mannai, Al-Noaimi, Al-Rumaihi, Al-Sulaiti, Al-Sadah, Al-Thawadi and other families and tribes. The House of Khalifa moved from Qatar to Bahrain in 1799. Originally, their ancestors were expelled from Umm Qasr in central Arabia by the Ottomans due to their predatory habits of preying on caravans in Basra and trading ships in Shatt al-Arab waterway until Turks expelled them to Kuwait in 1716, where they remained until 1766. Around
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#17327825257912134-668: The Indus Valley . Bahrain was later ruled by the Assyrians and Babylonians . From the sixth to third century BC, Bahrain was part of the Achaemenid Empire . By about 250 BC, Parthia brought the Persian Gulf under its control and extended its influence as far as Oman. The Parthians established garrisons along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf to control trade routes. During the classical era , Bahrain
2231-604: The Iraqi no-fly zones . A truck bomb was detonated adjacent to Building #131, an eight-story structure housing members of the United States Air Force 's 4404th Wing (Provisional) , primarily from a deployed rescue squadron and deployed fighter squadron. In all, 19 U.S. Air Force personnel were killed and 498 of many nationalities were wounded. The official 25 June 1996, statement by the United States named members of Hezbollah Al-Hejaz (English: 'Party of God in
2328-625: The Portuguese Empire allied with Hormuz and seized Bahrain from the Jabrid ruler Muqrin ibn Zamil , who was killed during the takeover. Portuguese rule lasted for around 80 years, during which time they depended mainly on Sunni Persian governors. The Portuguese were expelled from the islands in 1602 by Abbas I of the Safavid Iran , which gave impetus to Shia Islam . For the next two centuries, Persian rulers retained control of
2425-714: The Second World War on the Allied side, joining on 10 September 1939. On 19 October 1940, four Italian SM.82s bombers bombed Bahrain alongside Dhahran oilfields in Saudi Arabia, targeting Allied-operated oil refineries. Although minimal damage was caused in both locations, the attack forced the Allies to upgrade Bahrain's defences, an action which further stretched Allied military resources. After World War II, increasing anti-British sentiment spread throughout
2522-639: The September 11 attacks , the country participated in military action against the Taliban in October 2001 by deploying a frigate in the Arabian Sea for rescue and humanitarian operations. As a result, in November of that year, US president George W. Bush 's administration designated Bahrain as a " major non-NATO ally ". Bahrain opposed the invasion of Iraq and had offered Saddam Hussein asylum in
2619-726: The banking and tourism sectors; many of the world's largest financial institutions have a presence in the country's capital. It is recognized by the World Bank as a high-income economy . Bahrain is a member of the United Nations , Non-Aligned Movement , Arab League , Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Gulf Cooperation Council . Bahrain is a Dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization . Bahrain
2716-764: The 1760s, the Al Jalahma and House of Khalifa, both belonging to the Utub Federation, migrated to Zubarah in modern-day Qatar , leaving Al Sabah as the sole proprietors of Kuwait. In the early 19th century, Bahrain was invaded by both the Omanis and the Al Sauds . In 1802 it was governed by a 12-year-old child, when the Omani ruler Sayyid Sultan installed his son, Salim, as governor in the Arad Fort . In 1816,
2813-636: The Al Bin Ali had a practically independent status there as a self-governing tribe. They used a flag with four red and three white stripes, called the Al-Sulami flag in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait , and the Eastern province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Later, different Arab family clans and tribes from Qatar moved to Bahrain to settle after the fall of Nasr Al-Madhkur of Bushehr . These families included
2910-624: The Arab Spring , ended in a bloody crackdown against the mainly Shiite demonstrators who had demanded an elected government, threatening the Sunni monarchy's grip on power. In 2012, the Bahrain Pearling Trail , consisting of three oyster beds, was designated as a World Heritage Site , inscribing it as "Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy". On 9 April 2020, Bahrain launched a committee to paying private-sector employees for
3007-769: The Arab World and led to riots in Bahrain. The riots focused on the Jewish community. In 1948, following rising hostilities and looting , most members of Bahrain's Jewish community abandoned their properties and evacuated to Bombay , later settling in Israel ( Pardes Hanna-Karkur ) and the United Kingdom. As of 2008 , 37 Jews remained in the country. In the 1950s, the National Union Committee , formed by reformists following sectarian clashes, demanded an elected popular assembly, removal of Belgrave and carried out
Khobar Towers bombing - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-760: The Black Stone caused it to break into seven pieces. Following their defeat in the year 976 by the Abbasids , the Qarmatians were overthrown by the Arab Uyunid dynasty of al-Hasa , who took over the entire Bahrain region in 1076. The Uyunids controlled Bahrain until 1235, when the archipelago was briefly occupied by the Persian ruler of Fars . In 1253, the Bedouin Usfurids brought down
3201-430: The British placed the country under the de facto rule of Charles Belgrave who operated as an adviser to the ruler until 1957. Belgrave brought a number of reforms such as establishment of the country's first modern school in 1919 and the abolition of slavery in 1937. At the same time, the pearl diving industry developed at a rapid pace. In 1927, Rezā Shāh , then Shah of Iran , demanded sovereignty over Bahrain in
3298-542: The British political resident in the Persian Gulf, William Bruce, received a letter from the Sheikh of Bahrain who was concerned about a rumour that Britain would support an attack on the island by the Imam of Muscat. He sailed to Bahrain to reassure the Sheikh that this was not the case and drew up an informal agreement assuring the Sheikh that Britain would remain a neutral party. In 1820, the Al Khalifa tribe were recognised by
3395-401: The Hellenised world: the language of the upper classes was Greek (although Aramaic was in everyday use). Local coinage shows a seated Zeus, who may have been worshipped there as a syncretised form of the Arabian sun-god Shams . Tylos was also the site of Greek athletic contests. The Greek historian Strabo believed the Phoenicians originated from Bahrain. Herodotus also believed that
3492-494: The Hijaz' ) as responsible. On 13 November 1995, a car bombing in Riyadh outside the headquarters of the OPM-SANG killed six Americans and two Indian citizens and injured about 70 others. This attack led the U.S. forces stationed at Khobar Towers to raise the threat condition to THREATCON DELTA. Days after this car bombing, military commanders briefed soldiers and airmen at Khobar that the U.S. had received anonymous communications from an organization claiming to have carried out
3589-402: The Iranian Zand leader Karim Khan Zand and restored direct Iranian rule. In 1783, Al-Madhkur lost the islands of Bahrain following his defeat by the Bani Utbah clan and allied tribes at the 1782 Battle of Zubarah . Bahrain was not new territory to the Bani Utbah; they had been a presence there since the 17th century. During that time, they started purchasing date palm gardens in Bahrain;
3686-444: The Khobar Towers complex. It was suggested that Mylar tape be used to coat the windows for a barrier, but the cost, about US$ 4.5 million, was considered prohibitive. It was also suggested that the perimeter be expanded to at least 500 feet to protect servicemen from flying glass. After the bombing of Khobar Towers, the U.S. military and intelligence community came under heavy criticism for their lack of preparation and foresight for what
3783-448: The Khobar report, that a Beirut-sized bomb would still have caused significant damage from as far as 300 feet away. Officials concluded with the observation that bomb size was less important to the production of catastrophic results than that same bomb's effective proximity (blast radius). As a result of the terrorist attack, U.S. and coalition military operations at Khobar and Dhahran were subsequently relocated to Prince Sultan Air Base ,
3880-476: The Nestorians were often persecuted as heretics by the Byzantine Empire , but Bahrain was outside the Empire's control, offering some safety. The names of several Muharraq villages today reflect Bahrain's Christian legacy, with Al Dair meaning "the monastery". Bahrain's pre-Islamic population consisted of Christian Arabs (mostly Abd al-Qays ), Persians ( Zoroastrians ), Jews , and Aramaic -speaking agriculturalists. According to Robert Bertram Serjeant ,
3977-428: The Pentagon did not have sufficient evidence about the bombers to consider retaliation against foreign countries that may have played a role. In June 2001, an indictment was issued in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, Virginia charging the following people with murder, conspiracy , and other charges related to the bombing: In July 2001, Saudi Arabia said that eleven of
Khobar Towers bombing - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-455: The Pentagon; specifically, because "the project was deemed too costly", they had failed to implement a recommendation to coat Khobar's windows with plastic to prevent flying glass. The main security concern at the Khobar Towers compound before the bombing had been the prevention of an attack similar to the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings , when a vehicle-bomb entered the compound itself. Yet the Pentagon's report from that incident suggested, as did
4171-478: The Persian Gulf and author of The Persian Gulf , arrived in Bahrain from Muscat at this time. The uprising developed further with some protesters killed by British forces. Before the development of the petroleum industry, the island was largely devoted to pearl fisheries and, as late as the 19th century, was considered to be the finest in the world. In 1903, German explorer Hermann Burchardt visited Bahrain and took many photographs of historical sites, including
4268-420: The Persian Gulf, as compared to other Arab Spring uprisings, has sparked several controversies. Iran is alleged by United States and others to have a hand in the arming of Bahraini militants. The Saudi-led Intervention of Bahrain led to swift suppression of widespread anti-government protests through military assistance from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The 2011 Bahraini uprising , inspired by
4365-497: The Qarmatians demanded tribute from the caliph in Baghdad , and in 930 sacked Mecca , bringing the sacred Black Stone back to their base in Ahsa , in medieval Bahrain, for ransom. According to historian Al-Juwayni , the stone was returned 22 years later in 951 under mysterious circumstances. Wrapped in a sack, it was thrown into the Great Mosque of Kufa in Iraq, accompanied by a note saying "By command we took it, and by command, we have brought it back." The theft and removal of
4462-415: The Riyadh attack. The attackers claimed their goal was to get the United States Armed Forces to leave the country, and that Khobar Towers would be attacked next if troop withdrawal did not begin immediately. It was at this time that surveillance and other suspicious activity near the perimeter fences of Khobar Towers was noted by United States Air Force Security Forces ; however, the forces were forbidden by
4559-433: The Saudi government to act in any capacity outside the perimeter of the compound, and the surveillance continued with near impunity. The attackers were reported to have smuggled explosives into Saudi Arabia from Lebanon . Al-Mughassil, Al-Houri, Al-Sayegh, Al-Qassab, and the unidentified Lebanese man bought a large latrine service tanker truck in early June 1996 in Saudi Arabia. Over a two-week period they converted it into
4656-415: The Saudis when Defense Minister Prince Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz al-Saud characterized acts carried out by Saudi Islamic jihadists in 1995 as "boyish", and stated that the Saudi "Kingdom is not influenced by threats". Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) commented during a Senate intelligence committee meeting by saying "there was no intelligence failure ... there had been more than 100 intelligence reports on alerts of
4753-419: The Tylos era; for instance the name of Arad, a residential suburb of Muharraq , is believed to originate from "Arados", the ancient Greek name for Muharraq. In the 3rd century, Ardashir I , the first ruler of the Sassanid dynasty , marched on Oman and Bahrain, where he defeated Sanatruq the ruler of Bahrain. Bahrain was also the site of worship of an ox deity called Awal (Arabic: اوال ) Worshipers built
4850-402: The US they were not leaving with their tails between their legs, al Qaeda struck again: The June bombing of Khobar Towers. The Saudi authorities were at pains to implicate Shi'i militants backed by Iran in this attack, since the embarrassing truth that they had their very own homegrown militancy problem was inadmissible; they did not want to give the impression that there was domestic opposition to
4947-412: The United Kingdom as the rulers ("Al-Hakim" in Arabic) of Bahrain after signing a treaty relationship . However, ten years later they were forced to pay yearly tributes to Egypt despite seeking Persian and British protection. In 1860, the Al Khalifas used the same tactic when the British tried to overpower Bahrain. Writing letters to the Persians and Ottomans , Al Khalifas agreed to place Bahrain under
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#17327825257915044-439: The United Kingdom. Bahrain joined the United Nations and the Arab League later in the year. The oil boom of the 1970s benefited Bahrain greatly, although the subsequent downturn hurt the economy. The country had already begun diversification of its economy and benefited further from the Lebanese Civil War in the 1970s and 1980s, when Bahrain replaced Beirut as the Middle East's financial hub after Lebanon's large banking sector
5141-440: The United Nations data, of whom 712,362 are Bahraini nationals. Bahrain spans some 760 square kilometres (290 sq mi), and is the third-smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore . The capital and largest city is Manama . According to archeologist Geoffrey Bibby, Bahrain is the site of the ancient Dilmun civilization . It has been famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries , which were considered
5238-436: The Uyunid dynasty, thereby gaining control over eastern Arabia , including the islands of Bahrain. In 1330, the archipelago became a tributary state of the rulers of Hormuz , though locally the islands were controlled by the Shi'ite Jarwanid dynasty of Qatif . In the mid-15th century, the archipelago came under the rule of the Jabrids , a Bedouin dynasty also based in Al-Ahsa that ruled most of eastern Arabia. In 1521,
5335-399: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.132 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 940764714 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:28:45 GMT Bahrain Bahrain , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is an island country in West Asia . It is situated on the Persian Gulf , and comprises
5432-457: The archipelago, interrupted by the 1717 and 1738 invasions of the Ibadis of Oman. During most of this period, they resorted to governing Bahrain indirectly, either through the city of Bushehr or through immigrant Sunni Arab clans. The latter were tribes returning to the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf from Persian territories in the north who were known as Huwala . In 1753, the Huwala clan of Nasr Al-Madhkur invaded Bahrain on behalf of
5529-458: The attack by hiding large amounts of explosive materials and timing devices in paint cans and 50-kilogram (110 lb) bags underground in Qatif , a city near Khobar. The bomb was a mixture of petrol and explosive powder placed in the tank of a sewage tanker truck. Initially, the attackers attempted to enter the compound at the main checkpoint. When they were denied access by U.S. military personnel, at around 9:43 p.m. local time, they drove
5626-427: The beheadings of four Saudi nationals after their publicly confessed role in the November 1995 attacks in Riyadh. Clinton Administration officials admit that they "received a wave of threats against Americans and American installations in Saudi Arabia" in the weeks leading up to the attack, "but failed to prepare adequately for a bomb of the power that killed 19 American military personnel." Threats were also downplayed by
5723-445: The best in the world into the 19th century. Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to be influenced by Islam , during the lifetime of Muhammad in 628 AD. Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was ruled by the Portuguese Empire from 1521 until 1602, when they were expelled by Shah Abbas the Great of the Safavid Iran . In 1783, the Bani Utbah and allied tribes captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur and it has since been ruled by
5820-456: The bombing, had been arrested in Beirut and transferred to Saudi Arabian custody; an anonymous American intelligence officer told The New York Times that the Saudi government had not confirmed the arrest, but U.S. intelligence believed the report was accurate. Abdel Bari Atwan wrote: In May 1996 Bin Laden and his entourage moved from Sudan to Afghanistan. As if to make the point that they might have been chased out of Sudan by Saudi Arabia and
5917-468: The bombing. Clinton was under pressure from FBI Director Freeh and other domestic actors to press for accountability for the attack. The attempt backfired. Although Khatami was reportedly happy with the American initiative, especially because it was accompanied by an oral message of strong personal support from Clinton delivered by the Omani envoy, the Iranian president’s colleagues in the leadership, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, reacted vehemently to
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#17327825257916014-474: The car park and signaled the others by flashing headlights. The bomb truck and a getaway vehicle followed shortly after. The men parked the truck next to the fence and left in the third vehicle. The bomb exploded three to four minutes later at approximately 10:20 p.m. local time. The blast was so powerful that it was felt 20 miles (32 km) away in the Persian Gulf state of Bahrain . A U.S. Air Force security policeman, Staff Sergeant Alfredo R. Guerrero,
6111-433: The complex evacuated severely injured U.S. military personnel from the area. With power out in many of the buildings near #131, the scene was chaotic and tense as little was known about the safety of the area from further attacks. Many residents later gathered in the local dining facility, set up as a triage center, and saw breaking news of the event on large projection televisions intended to bring news of events back home to
6208-412: The complex. Windows were shattered in virtually every other building in the compound and in surrounding buildings up to a mile (1.6 km) away. A very large crater, 85 feet (26 m) wide and 35 feet (11 m) deep, was left where the truck had been. Within a few hours of the blast, the crater began to fill with salt-water from the Persian Gulf . In the minutes following the blast, the residents of
6305-410: The country experienced protests inspired by the regional Arab Spring . Bahrain's ruling Sunni Muslim Al Khalifa royal family has been criticised for violating the human rights of groups including dissidents, political opposition figures, and its majority Shia Muslim population . Bahrain developed one of the first post-oil economies in the Persian Gulf , the result of decades of investing in
6402-431: The country, reversed his thinking in the hope that Khatami potentially represented a game-changing shift in Iran’s conduct. The prospect of an opening with Tehran, which intrigued many U.S. allies and even domestic critics of administration policy, drove Clinton’s response to the Khobar attack. The White House and State Department sent various signals to the Iranians, some of which they reciprocated, but ultimately hopes for
6499-480: The country. Other agreements in 1880 and 1892 sealed the protectorate status of Bahrain to the British. Unrest amongst the people of Bahrain began when Britain officially established complete dominance over the territory in 1892. The first revolt and widespread uprising took place in March 1895 against Sheikh Issa bin Ali, then ruler of Bahrain. Sheikh Issa was the first of the Al Khalifa to rule without Persian relations. Sir Arnold Wilson , Britain's representative in
6596-401: The days before the invasion. Relations improved with neighbouring Qatar after the border dispute over the Hawar Islands was resolved by the International Court of Justice in The Hague in 2001. Following the political liberalisation of the country, Bahrain negotiated a free trade agreement with the United States in 2004. In 2005, Qal'at al-Bahrain , a fort and archaeological complex
6693-403: The deployment of US troops on Saudi soil. In 2004, the 9/11 Commission noted that Osama bin Laden was seen being congratulated on the day of the Khobar attack, and stated there were reports in the months preceding the attack that Bin Laden was seeking to facilitate a shipment of explosives to Saudi Arabia. According to the United States, classified evidence suggests that the government of Iran
6790-464: The explosion was enormous. The size of the explosion created an intense dust storm as the forces of the high pressure blast wave and the subsequent vacuum forces caused considerable damage in their own right. Several military vehicles parked to the left side of building #131 suffered no direct impact from debris, but were heavily damaged by the sheer intensity of the shock wave. The explosion heavily damaged or destroyed six high rise apartment buildings in
6887-443: The homeland of the Phoenicians was Bahrain. This theory was accepted by the 19th-century German classicist Arnold Heeren who said that: "In the Greek geographers, for instance, we read of two islands, named Tyrus or Tylos , and Aradus , which boasted that they were the mother country of the Phoenicians, and exhibited relics of Phoenician temples." The people of Tyre , in particular, have long maintained Persian Gulf origins, and
6984-702: The latter's protection in March due to offering better conditions. Eventually, the Government of British India overpowered Bahrain when the Persians refused to protect it. Colonel Pelly signed a new treaty with Al Khalifas placing Bahrain under British rule and protection. Following the Qatari–Bahraini War in 1868, British representatives signed another agreement with the Al Khalifas. It specified that
7081-527: The modern island—originally known to the Arabs as Awal . Today, Bahrain's "two seas" are generally taken to be the bay east and west of the island, the seas north and south of the island, or the salt and fresh water present above and below the ground. In addition to wells, there are areas of the sea north of Bahrain where fresh water bubbles up in the middle of the saltwater as noted by visitors since antiquity. An alternative theory concerning Bahrain's toponymy
7178-463: The national anthem Bahraynunā ("our Bahrain") or the demonym Bahraynī . The medieval grammarian al-Jawahari commented on this, saying that the more formally correct term Bahrī (lit. "belonging to the sea") would have been misunderstood and so was unused. It remains disputed which "two seas" the name Bahrayn originally refers to. The term appears five times in the Quran , but does not refer to
7275-727: The old Qaṣr es-Sheikh , photos now stored at the Ethnological Museum of Berlin . Before the First World War , there were about 400 vessels hunting pearls and an annual export of more than £30,000. In 1911, a group of Bahraini merchants demanded restrictions on the British influence in the country. The group's leaders were subsequently arrested and exiled to India. In 1923, the British introduced administrative reforms and replaced Sheikh Issa bin Ali with his son. Some clerical opponents and families, such as Al Dosari , left or were exiled to Saudi Arabia. Three years later
7372-513: The people indicted in the US were in custody in Saudi prisons, and were to be tried in Saudi court, as the country refused to extradite any of them to the United States to stand trial. The government has not since made public the outcome of the trial or the whereabouts of the prisoners. In August 2015, Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Mughassil, a leader of the gulf shia group Hezbollah Al-Hejaz found to be responsible for
7469-539: The people of Bahrain was the Al Kudr Invasion . Muhammad ordered a surprise attack on the Banu Salim tribe for plotting to attack Medina. He had received news that some tribes were assembling an army in Bahrain and preparing to attack the mainland, but the tribesmen retreated when they learned Muhammad was leading an army to do battle with them. Traditional Islamic accounts state that Al-Ala'a Al-Hadrami
7566-434: The president and his national security adviser, Sandy Berger, to take action. They were joined by others inside and outside the administration, notably FBI Director Louis J. Freeh and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman . Before taking action, President Clinton insisted on proof that could stand up in both a court of law and the court of public opinion. In the meantime, he ordered a review of military options in case of
7663-507: The relatively high clearance between the truck and the ground gave it the more lethal characteristics of an air burst . It was originally estimated by U.S. authorities to have contained 3,000 to 5,000 pounds (1,400 to 2,300 kg) of explosives. Later the General Downing report on the incident suggested that the explosion contained the equivalent of 20,000 to 30,000 pounds (9,100 to 13,600 kg) of TNT. The attackers prepared for
7760-736: The right to vote, and released all political prisoners. A referendum on 14–15 February 2001 massively supported the National Action Charter . As part of the adoption of the National Action Charter on 14 February 2002, Bahrain changed its formal name from the State ( dawla ) of Bahrain to the Kingdom of Bahrain. At the same time, the title of the Head of State, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, was changed from Emir to King. After
7857-430: The ruler could not dispose of any of his territories except to the United Kingdom and could not enter into relationships with any foreign government without British consent. In return the British promised to protect Bahrain from all aggression by sea and to lend support in case of land attack. More importantly the British promised to support the rule of the Al Khalifa in Bahrain, securing its unstable position as rulers of
7954-472: The safest location in the building. For his actions, Guerrero was awarded the Airman's Medal . Another security measure is thought to have minimized damage; along the security fence were Jersey barriers , concrete barriers commonly used along roadways. These deflected the blast energy upward, and away from the lower floors of the building, perhaps even preventing a total collapse of the structure. The force of
8051-542: The similarity in the words "Tylos" and "Tyre" has been commented upon. However, there is little evidence of any human settlement at all on Bahrain during the time when such migration had supposedly taken place. The name Tylos is thought to be a Hellenisation of the Semitic Tilmun (from Dilmun ). The term Tylos was commonly used for the islands until Ptolemy 's Geographia when the inhabitants are referred to as Thilouanoi. Some place names in Bahrain go back to
8148-574: The text of the letter. Two months later, the Iranians responded with a written denunciation of the allegation of culpability and a refusal to consider boosting bilateral ties under such circumstances. Beyond the Clinton administration’s miscalculation of Iranian politics, the episode showed that the bombing would continue to cast a long shadow over U.S.-Iran relations in years to come. Khobar Too Many Requests If you report this error to
8245-486: The troops. In all, 19 U.S. Air Force personnel were killed: After the blast, an assessment crew consisting of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), and United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) was sent to assess the risk to other security compounds in Saudi Arabia, and to offer suggestions for
8342-455: Was Iqlīm al-Bahrayn's "Bahrayn Province". The exact date at which the term "Bahrain" began to refer solely to the Awal archipelago is unknown. The entire coastal strip of Eastern Arabia was known as "Bahrain" for a millennium. The island and kingdom were also commonly spelled Bahrein into the 1950s. Bahrain was home to Dilmun , an important Bronze Age trade centre linking Mesopotamia and
8439-501: Was behind a 1996 truck bombing at an American military base." On 22 December 2006, high court judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled that Iran and Hezbollah were directly and personally responsible for the attack, stating that the leading experts on Hezbollah presented "overwhelming" evidence of the group's involvement and that six captured Hezbollah agents detailed the role of Iranian intelligence and military officials in providing money, explosives, arms and weapons, plans, and maps. This decision
8536-619: Was carried out by "Saudi Islamic militants, including many veterans of the Afghan War ." One U.S. official claimed that "it now seems it was not an isolated case. There is an organization of violent opponents whose members are loosely connected, organized in semi-independent cells like other violent fundamentalist movements in the Arab World." In April 1997, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. John Shalikashvili , said that
8633-521: Was considered an intelligence failure. According to the New York Times , "significant shortcomings in planning, intelligence, and basic security left American forces in Saudi Arabia vulnerable." Numerous warnings had been made available to the intelligence community and military command, and up to "ten incidents [were] reported suggesting that the Khobar Towers are under surveillance" from April to June 1996. These warnings came both before and after
8730-671: Was driven out of the country by the war. In 1981, following the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, the Bahraini Shia population orchestrated a failed coup attempt under the auspices of a front organisation, the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain . The coup would have installed a Shia cleric exiled in Iran, Hujjatu l-Islām Hādī al-Mudarrisī , as supreme leader heading a theocratic government . In December 1994,
8827-491: Was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Inspired by the regional Arab Spring , Bahrain's Shia majority started large protests against its Sunni rulers in early 2011. The government initially allowed protests following a pre-dawn raid on protesters camped in Pearl Roundabout . A month later it requested security assistance from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries and declared
8924-807: Was motivated by concerns over Saudi and Iranian ambitions in the region. The Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company of California (Socal), discovered oil in 1932. In the early 1930s, Bahrain Airport was developed. Imperial Airways flew there, including the Handley Page HP42 aircraft. Later in the same decade, the Bahrain Maritime Airport was established, for flying boats and seaplanes. Bahrain participated in
9021-565: Was reached as a default judgment , however, in which the Iranian government was not represented in court, because they chose not to challenge the allegations in a U.S. courtroom. Within days of the blast, counterterrorism officials on Clinton’s National Security Council staff concluded that elements inside Iran, specifically the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), were the perpetrators. They put pressure on
9118-702: Was referred to by the ancient Greeks as Tylos , the centre of pearl trading, when the Greek admiral Nearchus serving under Alexander the Great landed on Bahrain. Nearchus is believed to have been the first of Alexander's commanders to visit the island, and he found a verdant land that was part of a wide trading network; he recorded: "That on the island of Tylos, situated in the Persian Gulf, are large plantations of cotton trees, from which are manufactured clothes called sindones , of strongly differing degrees of value, some being costly, others less expensive. The use of these
9215-672: Was sent as an envoy during the Expedition of Zayd ibn Harithah (Hisma) to the Bahrain region by Muhammad in AD ;628 and that Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi , the local ruler, responded to his mission and converted the entire area. In the year 899, the Qarmatians , a millenarian Ismaili Muslim sect, seized Bahrain, seeking to create a utopian society based on reason and redistribution of property among initiates. Thereafter,
9312-421: Was stationed atop Building #131 when he witnessed the men, recognized the vehicles as a threat, reported it to security, and began a floor-by-floor evacuation of the building. His actions are credited with saving dozens of lives. Many of the evacuees were in the stairwell when the bomb went off. The stairwell was constructed of heavy marble and was located on the side of the building away from the truck bomb, perhaps
9409-620: Was the key sponsor of the incident, and several high-ranking members of their military may have been involved. A U.S. federal court speculated that the Khobar Towers bombing was authorized by Ali Khamenei , the Supreme Leader of Iran . William Perry , who was the United States Secretary of Defense at the time that this bombing happened, said in an interview in June 2007 that "he now believes al-Qaida rather than Iran
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