Many Western firms in Saudi Arabia are taking security into their own hands after al Qaeda militants eluded a crackdown by authorities to stage a string of deadly attacks on foreigners in the past month.
"We ordered glass panes that can withstand Kalashnikov fire and bullet proof cars," said one Western executive.
An attack in the oil city of Khobar last month killed 22 people, 19 of them foreigners, when militants entered a compound and were able to flee without being captured, raising security fears among expatriates.
"No one has confidence in standard security any longer because their track record is so poor," the executive said, adding authorities only responded to requests to deploy National Guard forces at companies after the May 29 attack.
Defence contractor BAE Systems said it upgraded security at offices and staff housing compounds but did not plan to evacuate any of its 5,000 employees - more than half them Saudis and the rest Westerners, mainly Britons and Australians.
"We increased security in the last two years and took extra measures recently because what has been surfacing is new," said Walid Abu Khaled, head of communications and public relations, but like many did not elaborate on security measures.
"There is a lot of concern and not just from expatriates," he said. "(But) we are still operating as normal."
On Tuesday, a US military contractor was shot and killed at his house in the capital Riyadh in the fifth assault on Westerners in the world's largest oil exporter in five weeks.
The attacks have heightened fears among tens of thousands of expatriates and raised doubts over the grip of security forces.
Saudi officials have so far remained silent on what measures they would take to safeguard foreigners from future attacks by al Qaeda, which has vowed that 2004 would be "bloody and miserable" for the kingdom, a key US ally.
Saudi Arabia has been fighting militants loyal to Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda for a year, arresting and killing many including eight on a wanted list of 26 militants.
Riyadh says militants are going for soft targets after the clampdown.
Private security firms have reported a surge in demand for armed guards, mainly from Western firms, after the attack in Khobar which targeted oil firms and Western compounds. Security companies also started anti-terror courses and weapons training.
Another executive, who also asked not to be identified, said some Westerners wanted to hire non-Saudi guards but were unable to do so under current laws.
"It is a sensitive issue for the Saudi authorities but I think there may be some negotiations on this, perhaps joint guards," the executive said. "Quite a few of the smaller firms have evacuated families and staff wherever possible."
On Sunday, al Qaeda militants shot and killed Irish cameraman Simon Cumbers and critically wounded BBC correspondent Frank Gardner in a Riyadh area known as a militant stronghold.
An official at one company in Riyadh said he did not even want to mention that they had any Western staff for fear militants would go after them.
"When you see what is happening, security measures mean nothing. They followed the American home.
Even in the compounds, where there is security, people are very concerned after Khobar," said one Arab expatriate who declined to be named.
"Someone who is not Western but looks Western could be targeted. If I see a car behind me for long, I alter my route just to check if I am being followed," the Arab man said.
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