June 25, 1996   (Dharan, Saudi Arabia)

Group Responsible

Saudi Arabian Hezbollah members with support from the government of Iran.

Synopsis

On the evening of June 25th a couple of individuals parked a tanker truck in a parking lot adjacent to the Khobar Tower apartment buildings. The sentries on duty realized the threat of a truck bomb and began evacuating the building. Unfortunately, the bomb went off before the building could be completely evacuated. In this terrorist attack 19 servicemen lost their lives with hundreds of others wounded.

America's Response

The US has indicted 14 people in connection with the Khobar Towers bombing.

In addition, this attack brought about a swirl of controversy. Two separate Air Force reports found the the general in charge had done all he could to keep the event from happening. However, the Defense Departments report found that General Schwailer could have done more to protect his troops. These fact finding reports led the US government to apparently sacrifice Brig. Gen. Terryl J. Schwailer, 4404th Wing commander in the need to have a scapegoat. The blame for the incidents was placed on his shoulders for failing to take the proper actions to protect his troops. According to several reports he had taken numerous steps to insure the safety of his troops and ironically the step the military has taken to insure this does not happen again is the one thing that was out of his control, removal of the vulnerable housing out of a heavily populated residential area.

The Truck Bomb Crater That exploded outside the Khobar Towers.