Khobar Towers bombing
| Khobar Towers bombing | |
|---|---|
Building #131 after the bombing. | |
| Location | 26°15′40″N 50°12′25″E / 26.261243°N 50.206825°E Khobar, Saudi Arabia |
| Date | 25 June 1996 9:50 p.m. (UTC+3) |
Attack type | Truck bomb |
| Deaths | 19 |
| Injured | 498 |
| Perpetrators | Hezbollah Al-Hejaz / Al-Qaeda (disputed) |
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 the Iraqi no-fly zones.
A truck bomb was detonated adjacent to Building #131, an eight-story building 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 the Hijaz') as responsible.