The scene where Mike Anderson (Dolph Lundgren) runs through the mass of people during the Easter celebration, was shot during an actual enactment by pilgrims of the twelve stations of Christ. Hidden cameras were used to get the footage, and a pair of incognito Israeli National Squad paratroopers followed Lundgren for his protection. Nonetheless, pilgrims and tourists thought his fake blood was an actual wound, and "real" soldiers pointed M16 guns at Lundgren and got him down on the ground, as they had not been well informed of the film production.
Robert Cettl argues in his 2009 book "Terrorism in American cinema: an analytical filmography, 1960-2008" that the film revealed an alarmingly realist insight into U.S.-Middle Eastern politics and terrorism since the 2000s, dealing with an al-Qaeda-esque terrorist organization and the conspiracy theories that some believe the U.S. government is using the Middle East as a cover-up.
Screenwriter William Tannen was to direct the film. Director Manny Coto got hired only one or two weeks before principal photography.
Released theatrically worldwide except in the United States and United Kingdom.
Dolph Lundgren and Louis Gossett, Jr. appeared in The Punisher (1989).