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| Arabia |
| Yemen: Security alert after foiled terrorist attack |
| 2003-12-15 |
| A security alert has been issued after the Yemeni security forces foiled a plan to attack the United Kingdom embassy in Sanaa on Friday. Militants possibly linked to al Qaeda plotted to blow up the British embassy in Yemen. The militants were arrested while filming the building in Sanaa. âI think it was very serious...,â Britainâs ambassador to Yemen, Frances Guy, told the BBC when asked about the plot. âWe are very conscious that we are a high priority target here in Yemen and we try our best on a daily basis to review our security and improve it as much as we can.â The BBC said some 20 militants were involved in a plot to drive a truck bomb through the gates of the embassy some three months ago. After being caught filming the building, their video tape was sent to London for analysis, the BBC said. A Foreign Office spokesman in London declined to comment on details of the report, saying: âWe never comment on the security of individual buildings for good reason, but the security of our staff is paramount. âThere is not one size fits all approach to security.â This comes after a group calling itself âal-Qaeda Yemen Branchâ had made explicit threats through a statement sent to al-Wahdawi newspaperâs website claiming responsibility for the latest attack against Shabwa governor and waned of future attacks. The number one wanted al-Qaeda element in Yemen Mohammad Hamdi al-Ahdal, who is also known as Abu Asem al-Makki, was arrested a few weeks ago after close monitoring by security forces. The arrest triggered security alerts throughout the country for possible remaining elements who may retaliate. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |