The Royal Navy has warned merchant ships in the Gulf to be on their guard after an al-Qaeda threat to target oil terminals in the area.
Coalition naval forces in the area have been put on watch for possible terror threats to oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, officials said.
A Royal Navy official said the threat had resulted in increased security and vigilance at Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura terminal, as well as at a refinery in Bahrain. But oil exports were proceeding as normal, he said.
The Royal Navy, part of the Italian-led Coalition Task Force 152 that patrols international waters off the Ras Tanura terminal, sent an e-mail yesterday warning merchant shipping in the region of Bahrain and eastern Saudi Arabia to be alert for suspicious vessels or activity.
The US navy's 5th fleet, based in Bahrain, said it was aware of the British warning.
The British official said coalition ships were sticking to international waters and had not been invited to patrol inside Saudi Arabia's territorial waters near the terminal.
"The Saudis are very protective of their patch," the British official in Dubai said. He described the patrols as normal naval operations that had been under way since 2002, though on a heightened state of alert for the past month.
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This is, in part, a response to a videotaped message from al-Qaida's deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was released on the 5th anniversary of 9/11.
In the video the terrorist leader warned the Persian Gulf region and Israel would be the group's next targets. He also accused Western powers of stealing what he called Muslim oil.
US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack says the United States is ready to help Saudi Arabia fight threats from terrorist groups.
"There have been calls by al-Qaida to attack Saudi oil facilities in the recent past," he said. "These are not new. You go back in the record you can see these threats previously. We will do everything that we can, if there is a request for assistance, both in general terms or specific terms to assist the Saudi government."
McCormack declined to discuss specific threats to Saudi facilities or whether the United States has received any requests to defend them.
I doubt if the British has not recieved a request to defend the Saudis and Bahrain, niether has the US. But we always seem to be ready to defend our allies. That's just the way we are.
Labels: al-Qaeda, Bahrain, Coalition Forces, Global War, Oil, Saudi Arabia
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