Yemeni officials confirm Americans’ involvement in shootings

Two armed Yemenis were killed when two US embassy staff reacted to alleged kidnapping attempt on April 24.

A military vehicle blocks a street leading to the presidential palace in Sanaa on May 10, 2014, a day after it was attacked by suspected Al Qaeda-linked gunmen. Mohamed Al Sayaghi / Reuters

SANAA // Officials in Yemen on Saturday confirmed that two Americans working for the US embassy were involved in the killing of two armed Yemenis during a kidnap attempt at a barbershop in the capital last month.

Yemen’s interior ministry had reported deaths during the kidnap attempt on the April 24, but did not disclose the nationality of the foreigners involved. A ministry spokesman had said the two Yemenis killed were linked to Al Qaeda.

The US State Department said on Friday that two Americans were involved in the incident. The New York Times, which first reported the story, cited a spokesman for the Yemeni Embassy in Washington, Mohammed Albasha, who said he knew of the shooting but had no information about any American role in the matter or his government’s response to that role.

However, a senior interior ministry official told The National that the government was aware of what happened.

“The man who killed the Yemenis was indeed an American,” the official said. “Yemeni attackers approached the barbershop while one of the Americans was inside. A second armed American was a couple of metres away in the vehicle. Both Yemenis were shot by the American waiting outside the shop.”

The government did not want to release the details, he said, before ensuring US interests in Yemen would not be harmed in retaliation.

The New York Times reported that the men involved were a CIA officer and a lieutenant colonel with the elite Joint Special Operations Command, and that they had left Yemen a few days after the incident.

Revelations about the nationality of the men’s killers could further stoke anti-American feelings among Yemenis, who have been angered by a campaign of US drone strikes against Al Qaeda militants that have also killed at least 200 civilians in the past two years, according to the Alkarama human rights organisation.

Yemen’s National Security Agency expelled two American journalists on Thursday and Friday, saying they faced the risk of being kidnapped.

Yemen has seen increasing numbers of attacks and kidnapping attempts on westerners.

The US Embassy in Sanaa closed on Tuesday following a string of attacks against foreigners in the country. On Monday, gunmen opened fire on three French security guards working with the European Union mission in the Yemeni capital, killing one and wounding another.

The Yemeni interior ministry official said the US government had already been considering closing the embassy and their decision was reinforced by the killings at the barbershop.

“After Al Qaeda vowed to move the fight to the main cities last week, attacks against foreigners and Yemeni forces in Sanaa more than tripled compared to a month before,” said Abdulsalam Mohammed, president of the Sanaa-based Abaad Strategic Centre, a think tanks

Security in Sanaa was stepped up on Saturday after suspected Al Qaeda militants attacked a checkpoint outside the presidential palace a day earlier and also tried to kill the defence minister, Mohammed Nasser Ahmad, in an ambush.

The Yemen-based arm of the group, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqap), considered by the US to be the most deadly unit, expanded its territory during a year-long popular uprising that forced president Ali Abdullah Saleh from power in 2012.

Aqap became highly active in four provinces of Baida, Abyan, Shabwa and Hadramout, prompting the military to launch an offensive in March 2012.

The latest offensive, which began about 10 days ago, was preceded by an increase in US drone strikes that killed dozens of Al Qaeda militants, including top commanders, according to Yemeni authorities.

Yemen’s anti-Al Qaeda campaign has been heavily reliant on American support, including the widespread use of drone strikes, though these are not directly acknowledged by US authorities.

Al Qaeda, weakened from the offensive, has increased kidnappings to finance their operations.

Western diplomats estimate that the group gained more than US$50 million (Dh183m) in 2013 from ransoms for western hostages.

A western diplomat based in Yemen said the ransoms “financed their entire operation that year”.

“When Al Qaeda is on the ground, they suddenly find a new way to stand up on their feet again through kidnappings,” said Mr Mohammed.