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Anxieties about Al Qaeda attacks and a US-led war against Iran have prompted Saudi Arabia to establish a special force – being trained by an American defence contractor – to protect its oilfields.
Saudi authorities have already recruited 5,000 members of the Facilities Security Force and plan to raise the number to 8,000-10,000 over the next two years, in a project being run by the Lockheed Martin Corporation, officials confirmed.
Nervousness has been growing recently about the impact of attacks by Al Qaeda-related groups and possible retaliation by Iran in the event of US or Israeli strikes on its nuclear installations.
The plan to set up a force that will eventually number 35,000 to guard oil and other installations was announced in July by the country’s Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz.
The Middle East Economic Survey (Mees) reported: “The scale of the latest security initiative is immense and several years are likely to elapse until the new force is fully capable.”
The total cost was likely to reach $5 billion, it said.
By Ian Black
