SANA'A // Sixteen people were killed and a number of others injured in a car bomb and rocket attack on the US Embassy in Sana'a yesterday morning, Yemen's ministry of interior said. The dead included six soldiers, six attackers and four civilians, all of whom were Yemeni except for one Indian woman who was walking by. Witnesses said a fierce firefight erupted after gunmen raked Yemeni police guarding the heavily fortified embassy compound, before a suicide bomber blew up a car at the entrance, setting off a fireball. A series of explosions followed as the compound came under rocket and small arms fire, they said, adding that the force of the bomb blast sent pieces of debris a hundred metres away. The ministry said in a press statement Yemeni police guarding embassy prevented the attackers from entering the embassy compound. "We condemn this terrorist attack and investigations are being carried out to reveal the implications of the attack," the statement said. The US Embassy said in a press statement it had been "attacked by armed terrorists". "A number of explosions occurred in the vicinity of the Embassy's main gate and there were several secondary explosions. A number of Yemeni security personnel were killed and injured, as were several Yemeni citizens waiting to gain entry to the Embassy," it said. "Today's events demonstrate that terrorist criminals will not hesitate to kill innocent citizens and those charged with protecting them in pursuit of their agenda of terror." The embassy said it was working closely with senior Yemeni government officials to investigate the attack, which is the second in six months. "We will rely on continued close co-operation with Yemeni authorities to complete a thorough investigation and to bring the perpetrators of this heinous terrorist crime to justice." Sean McCormack, a spokesman for the US state department, said the assault bore "all the hallmarks of an al Qa'eda attack". A shadowy group calling itself Islamic Jihad in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened strikes against the British, Saudi and United Arab Emirates missions in the Yemeni capital. It had threatened in a statement on Tuesday to launch a series of attacks unless the Yemeni government met its demands for the release of several members from jail. Eyewitnesses said they heard a huge explosion in the area surrounding the embassy. "We heard a huge explosion followed by gunfire and then two more explosions. We ran to the area and we saw smoke rising in the air," said Majed al Safani, a 16-year-old resident in the US Embassy zone, located in the east of the city. Police and ambulances were seen rushing towards the area and security forces were sealing off surrounding roads. At least seven wounded civilians, including children from nearby houses, were taken to the capital's Republican Hospital, a medical official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the press. The attack has raised concerns that a fresh confrontation between the government and al Qa'eda militants is imminent. "This unprecedented and daring attack against the heavily protected compound of the US Embassy sends an alarm that the group is impetuous. This is very dangerous," said Ali Saif Hasan, director of Political Development Forum, a Sana'a-based think tank. Mr Hasan said Yemen is heading towards a major confrontation with Yemen-based al Qa'eda militants, which will require regional and international co-operation. A spate of al Qa'eda attacks hit Yemen this year, including a separate attack on the US Embassy, another near the Italian mission and others on western tourists. An al Qa'eda-affiliated group claimed responsibility in March for a mortar attack that missed the US Embassy but killed a security guard and wounded 13 girls at a nearby school. The United States ordered non-essential staff to leave Yemen in April following that attack. But after a Yemeni government operation against al Qa'eda last month, they were instructed to return. In that operation in Tarim, in the southeastern province of Hadhramaut, police killed five suspected al Qa'eda members as well as al Qa'eda in Yemen's No 2, Hamza al Quaiti. Mr Hasan dismissed the possibility that yesterday's attack was retribution for the killing of Hamza. "This operation against the US Embassy is not simply retaliation to the Tairm attack. It demonstrates a strategy for al Qa'eda. Taking into consideration that al Qa'eda has now taken Yemen as a base to gather its militants escaping from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Yemen will not be able to crack down on these militants alone. It needs regional and international community support," he said. The ministry of interior blamed Quaiti for masterminding several militant attacks in Yemen in recent months, including four car bomb attacks and an attack on Belgian tourists in Hadhramaut on Jan 18 that killed two Belgian women and two Yemeni drivers. The ministry has also accused Quaiti of being behind the US Embassy bombing in March. Mr Hasan said the government's capabilities are stretched, trying to contain rebellions in the south and north, and manage an increasingly tense relationship with a coalition of opposition parties before the parliamentary election scheduled for April. "This incident should force the government to prioritise its fight against terrorism. "It will also push the government to settle down political unrest in the northern province of Sa'ada as well as the in the south, in addition to the tense relationship with the opposition over the election," Mr Hasan said. "The government needs to sort out all these issues to work full time on terrorism." malqadhi@thenational.ae * With additional reporting by Reuters, Agence Franc Presse and The Associated Press
Attack on US Embassy kills 16
Militants who attacked the US embassy in the Yemen have threatened to carry out similar attacks on Gulf state embassies.
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