Although the house was heavily guarded with guards armed with machine guns on the ground floor,[10] bin Laden once missed an assassination attempt at this house attempted by Takfiris, an ultra extremist group who considered bin Laden's ways as heretic. Following this attack, his house was made more secure with more guards and trenches dug in front and back of the house. This caused inconvenience to his neighbours who then wished that bin Laden would leave their neighbourhood.[10] After living in Sudan for more than 4 years, he left Sudan in May 1996, bitterly disappointed with political developments in the country he had invested so much in.[10][11] The property has remained vacant since bin Laden was expelled from the country in 1996 because tenants feared that the United States might bomb it.[3] However, it is also reported that China made it their Embassy.[10]