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Suicide bomber targets British envoy in Yemen
Suspected al Qaeda suicide bomber targeted a convoy of the British ambassador to Yemen early on Monday, killing himself and injuring three others, but the envoy was unharmed.The hit "bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda", Yemen's interior ministry said. Ambassador Tim Torlot was on his way to the embassy when the blast occurred, the ministry said. Two of the wounded were security officials escorting the ambassador's motorcade, while the third was a bystander. Britain's Foreign Office confirmed that a small explosion took place beside the ambassador's car. He was unhurt and no other embassy staff were injured, it said in a statement. The embassy will be closed to the public indefinitely. The suicide bomber was a young man dressed in sports gear, the interior ministry said, citing security services. The force of the blast scattered his body parts to the roofs of nearby houses, the ministry said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday's explosion, but a Yemeni security official told Reuters that dozens of al Qaeda suspects had been arrested in different parts of Yemen in connection with the attack. The official also identified the suicide bomber as Othman Noaman, a Yemeni student from the southern town of Taizz who he said had received training from al Qaeda in the province of Marib and had come to the attention of authorities. Analysts said Monday's attack suggested al Qaeda still posed a significant threat in Yemen, next door to top oil exporter Saudi Arabia. Boy howdy, what would we do without analysts?
The Yemeni authorities were investigating the area of Monday's blast, which was cordoned off, security sources said. Posted by: Steve White 2010-04-27 |
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