Yemen

Rockets, car bombs strike US embassy

Article published on the 2008-09-17 Latest update 2008-09-17 16:56 TU

A burnt car sits outside the US embassy in Sanaa.
(Photo: Reuters)

Islamic militants attacked the US embassy in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Wednesday with two car bombs, rockets and at least one failed suicide attack, killing 16. In the second attack against the secure compound in six months, six Yemenis, four civilians and six attackers died. There were no American casualties.

A group calling itself Islamic Jihad in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attacks and threatened further strikes against British, Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates missions in Sanaa.

Witnesses say that a shootout began after gunmen opened fire on the Yemeni police guarding the US compound. Then a suicide car bomb was detonated at the entrance. Several more explosions followed as attackers sprayed the police with small arms fire.

Yemeni authorities report that there were two car bombs and one fighter that was killed was wearing an unexploded suicide vest.

In March, a schoolgirl and a policeman were killed and 19 people were wounded when the same embassy came under mortar fire.

Al Qaeda militants have been attacking US interests in Yemen for years. In October 2000, the American warship USS Cole was attacked by Islamic militants in an explosives-filled boat. The event is widely credited as ushering in the modern era of Al Qaeda-style terrorism.

The US embassy said it would work with Yemeni authorities to track down and find the perpetrators of this “heinous” crime. The embassy and all diplomatic missions have been closed.

US President George W Bush condemned the attack that he said was part of an effort to kick the US out of the Middle East.

“This attack is a reminder that we are at war with extremists who would murder innocent people to achieve their ideological objectives,” he said.