 A Saudi national guardsman was injured |
The partner of one of two British oil workers killed by militants in Saudi Arabia has said his family is devastated by his death. Chemical engineer Michael McGillen, of Stoke-on-Trent, was among at least six shot dead in the port city of Yanbu.
Michael Hardy, 44, from Kent, has been named as the second British victim, who was working for Swiss oil company ABB Lummus with 68 other Westerners.
On Monday evening ABB employees were preparing to leave Saudi Arabia.
'Loss'
Mr McGillen's partner, Linda Shepherd, 56, said she and "a large extended family" were devastated by "his death and the tragic circumstances surrounding it".
"We would like to thank everyone for their kind thoughts - but the family would like time to grieve and come to terms with their loss," a statement read outside the couple's home by her sister Margaret Ball added.
After opening fire at the oil refinery, three gunmen were later shot dead and another arrested.
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he was "shocked and sickened" by the killings.
"The perpetrators of this atrocious attack clearly have no respect for innocent lives. We cannot let the terrorists succeed.
"Saudi authorities have our full support and are working hard to tackle terrorism. We stand ready to offer assistance," he said
Opening fire
Saudi Arabia has vowed to use an "iron fist" against militants.
"The kingdom will eliminate terrorism no matter how long it takes," said Crown Prince Abdullah.
Two Americans, one Australian and a member of the Saudi national guard also died in the attack.
An American, a Canadian and a Pakistani and 25 Saudis were also injured, according to the interior ministry.
The company is now evacuating 90 non-Saudi employees and 30 dependents.
"Our people on the ground have had meetings with the employees who were there and asked them if they would agree to stay if we beefed up security... or whether they would prefer to leave.
"Not surprisingly, everybody wanted to go home," ABB's Bjorn Edlund told the Associated Press.
'Terrible'
The company said its work on a petrochemical plant would stop.
 More than 50 people were killed last year in attacks in Riyadh |
Mr Edlund, speaking from Zurich, Switzerland said: "It is obviously an enormous blow.
"Losing five employees in a terrorist attack is a terrible, terrible thing to happen. We are trying to deal with it as best as we can."
Most of the employees are American but there are also Britons, Australians, Indians, and Filipinos, he said.
The gunmen burst into the offices at a complex co-owned by Exxon Mobil and the Saudi company SABIC, before opening fire.
They were chased into a nearby residential area all four were shot dead by security forces.
Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Britain, Prince Turki al-Faisal, offered his condolences to the families of victims.
He said his government believed that al-Qaeda was to blame.
Saudi Arabia has seen a year-long wave of Islamist militancy, targeting mainly foreigners.
More than 50 people have been killed in suicide bombings in the capital Riyadh, including an attack on a security building last month.
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Losing five employees in a terrorist attack is a terrible, terrible thing to happen 
