01 June 2004	Tuesday	12 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

AL KHOBAR, May 31: A Christian Arab who was held captive by Al Qaeda militants in Saudi Arabia said on Monday he lied to them about his faith and praised their battle against the West, to save his life.

Nizar Hajazeen, a Jordanian software businessmen who was at the Tower hotel in the Oasis compound during the 25-hour drama in Khobar, said the militants lectured him about Islam and their aim to liberate Saudi Arabia from "infidels and crusaders".

The complex where the militants held about 50 foreigners - including some Westerners - was their last target in the violence in the eastern Saudi oil city in which they killed at least 22 people.

Mr Hajazeen, 32, had tried to call a cab to go to work on Saturday but the phone lines were jumbled. "I went down and the Filipino receptionist told me there were terrorists in the compound and gunshots were heard," he said.

He tried to help security guards close the hotel entrance gate but the lock did not work and a manager recommended he hide, Mr Hajazeen said. "I went to the room of a Jordanian colleague. Someone banged violently on the door. We opened and there were two men, one with a machinegun, another with a revolver. They were wearing black track suits," he said, adding that one had a wounded arm.

Both were in their twenties. "They asked us if we were Arab or Westerners. We told them: 'We're Arab'. "One then asked if I was a Christian or a Muslim. I told him we were Muslims and showed him my colleague's Koran as proof. I told him we supported them and that we were against America and Europe. I had to say that."

Residents of the compound said the attackers asked everyone they encountered if they were Muslim or Christian, before taking them hostage or killing them. An Oasis manager said the gunmen shot and killed several Westerners as soon as they entered the complex.

The gunmen made two Indian hotel staff with master keys show them where the Westerners were, Hajazeen said. His brother called him on his mobile phone to wish him a happy birthday - a day late - just as the militants were saying their motive was to drive Americans and Christians from their country.

"They asked me to turn off my mobile but did not take it away as they did with others," Hajazeen said, adding that they told him and his colleague to stay in the room and left.

"We stayed locked in our room. One of us was hiding in the shower, another one was hiding in the bathtub," Hajazeen said, adding that from time to time they sneaked back into the bedroom to watch the news on television.

He said that before commandos freed them on Sunday, compound security guards called his mobile to ask him to check if the militants had rigged his floor with explosives. He found nothing. -Reuters