Yemen blasts: Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for US embassy attack
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ims-responsibility-for-US-embassy-attack.html
A car bomb targeting the US embassy in Yemen exploded outside of the compound's gate, killing at least ten people, US officials said.
The Islamist Jihad group claimed responsibility for the attack against the US embassy compound in Sanaa and threatened that it would also target the British, Saudi and Emirati missions in the Yemeni capital.
The compound was hit by a car bomb and heavy gunfire lasting around 10 minutes following the blasts, a Yemeni security official said.
The dead included six Yemeni soldiers and four civilians, including an Indian. The six attackers - one wearing an explosives belt, also died in the explosion.
Smoke was seen rising from the heavily-fortified US compound and ambulances and fire engines raced to the scene, which was cordoned off by police, witnesses said.
The US embassy said none of its staff had been hurt.
Yemen has grappled with a spate of al-Qaeda attacks this year, including one on the US embassy, another near the Italian mission and others on Western tourists.
An al-Qaeda-affiliated group claimed responsibility in March for a mortar attack that missed the US embassy in Sanaa but wounded 13 girls at a nearby school.
The US ordered non-essential staff to leave Yemen in April, a day after an attack on a residential compound, but they were allowed to return a month ago.
The Yemeni government joined the US-led war against terrorism following the Sept 11, 2001 attacks.
It has jailed dozens of militants in connection with bombings of Western targets and clashes with authorities, but is still viewed in the West as a haven for Islamist militants.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ims-responsibility-for-US-embassy-attack.html
A car bomb targeting the US embassy in Yemen exploded outside of the compound's gate, killing at least ten people, US officials said.
The Islamist Jihad group claimed responsibility for the attack against the US embassy compound in Sanaa and threatened that it would also target the British, Saudi and Emirati missions in the Yemeni capital.
The compound was hit by a car bomb and heavy gunfire lasting around 10 minutes following the blasts, a Yemeni security official said.
The dead included six Yemeni soldiers and four civilians, including an Indian. The six attackers - one wearing an explosives belt, also died in the explosion.
Smoke was seen rising from the heavily-fortified US compound and ambulances and fire engines raced to the scene, which was cordoned off by police, witnesses said.
The US embassy said none of its staff had been hurt.
Yemen has grappled with a spate of al-Qaeda attacks this year, including one on the US embassy, another near the Italian mission and others on Western tourists.
An al-Qaeda-affiliated group claimed responsibility in March for a mortar attack that missed the US embassy in Sanaa but wounded 13 girls at a nearby school.
The US ordered non-essential staff to leave Yemen in April, a day after an attack on a residential compound, but they were allowed to return a month ago.
The Yemeni government joined the US-led war against terrorism following the Sept 11, 2001 attacks.
It has jailed dozens of militants in connection with bombings of Western targets and clashes with authorities, but is still viewed in the West as a haven for Islamist militants.
