예멘 美대사관 폭탄테러로 16명 사망

 예멘 주재 미국 대사관 정문에서 17일 발생한 차량 폭발물 테러로 16명이 사망했다고 예멘 내무부가 밝혔다. 예멘 내무부 발표에 따르면 사망자 중 6명은 테러범이었다

한 고위 치안담당 관리는 이 사건으로 숨진 사람들 중 6명은 예멘 내무부 소속 경호원들이었고 4명은 시민들이었다고 설명했다.

   예멘 주재 미국 대사관 대변인은 이날 오전 폭발물 테러가 발생했다고 확인했지만 두 번째 폭발의 원인은 모르겠다고 말했다.

   smile@yna.co.kr
(끝)

 

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2008/09/17/0200000000AKR20080917213000009.HTML

 

 

 

 

 

Deadly US embassy attack in Yemen

The atmosphere inside the embassy is now said to be "calm" A car bomb and rocket attack on the US embassy in Yemen has killed at least 16 people, including civilians and Yemeni security guards, Yemen officials said. The bomb targeted the main security gate as staff were arriving for work. An exchange of gun and rocket fire followed between embassy security guards and militants, who were dressed as policemen. Hundreds of heavily armed troops have now surrounded the embassy building, which is strafed with bullet holes. Security sources said six members of the Yemeni security forces, six attackers, and four bystanders were killed in the attack, which occurred at about 0830 (0530 GMT). US spokesman Ryan Gliha was unable to confirm reports of a gun battle. He described the atmosphere inside the embassy as calm, adding that arrangements were being made so that staff could "go about their business in a safe manner". Terrorism threat A group calling itself the Islamic Jihad in Yemen said it carried out a bomb and rocket attack on the embassy, and threatened to attack other foreign missions in Yemen, Arabic TV channel al-Arabiya reported. The authenticity of the claim could not be immediately verified. It is the second attack on the embassy this year. The US ordered the evacuation of non-essential personnel from Yemen in April after mortar bombs were fired towards the embassy. They missed but hit a nearby school. Yemen, the ancestral home of Osama Bin Laden, has long been a haven for Islamist militants. In 2000, 17 US sailors were killed when suicide bombers with alleged links to al-Qaeda blew themselves up on an inflatable raft next to the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden. The government of Yemen, which backs America's "war on terror", has often blamed al-Qaeda for attacks on Western targets in the country. US special forces have been helping the government fight the Islamist militants. There are many tribal conflicts within the country, including an ongoing war with Shia rebels in the north, in which hundreds of people have died.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7620362.stm

 

Deadly blast hits U.S. Embassy in Yemen

(CNN) -- A suspected car bomb exploded outside the gate of the U.S. Embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa Wednesday reportedly killing 16 people including security guards and civilians.

A police vehicle drives near the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa shortly after the car bomb exploded.

 

The dead included six Yemeni security guards, six attackers and four civilians, state-owned newspaper said, quoting security sources.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Ryan Gliha confirmed security guards and civilians were among the dead following the attack which witnesses described as a "fireball."

An initial explosion at 9.15 am local time (0615 GMT/2.15 ET), was followed by several secondary explosions, Gliha said.

No U.S. Embassy employees were killed, a senior State Department official told CNN, though at least one Yemeni guard died. It was unclear whether the main explosion was caused by a car bomb or rocket-propelled grenade, the official said.

The heavily-fortified compound in capital of Yemen -- the ancestral home of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden -- has previously been targeted by attacks that have prompted authorities to evacuate non-essential staff.

Two cars were involved with the attack, Yemeni officials said. The first contained people in police uniforms who exchanged fire with Yemeni security forces, the officials said.

The second car exploded after it passed an outermost gate to the Embassy but before it reached a second protective barrier, the officials said. Gliha said the blast caused damage to the gate of the compound, but did not affect buildings within. Listen to Gliha describe aftermath

Trev Mason, a British citizen who witnessed the attack told CNN there was a large explosion and a ball of flames. He said there were reports of lots of casualties.

Mason who lives in a compound opposite the building said he saw "a massive fireball." Listen to witness describe attack »

"We heard the sounds of a heavy gun battle going on," he told CNN. "I looked out my window, and we saw the first explosion going off -- a massive fireball very close to the U.S. Embassy.

"The gun battle went on for a further 10 to 15 minutes, followed by two further loud explosions."

Mason said emergency services had been on the scene putting out fires.

"The situation is quiet now but obviously very tense," he said.

In April the United States ordered non-essential employees of its Sanaa embassy to leave the country after a rocket attack on a compound housing Western and other international oil workers. That order was lifted last week.

In March, three mortar rounds landed near the Embassy, injuring Yemeni students at a nearby school and Yemeni government security personnel, the State Department said.

The next month, an expatriate residential compound in the Hadda neighborhood was attacked by mortar fire. Suspected extremists fired two mortar rounds toward the Yemen Customs Authority and Italian Embassy in April, as well, but no one was hurt.

Authorities in Yemen have been struggling to curb the activities of Al Qaeda-linked groups, with militants seen as having free rein outside major cities, says CNN's International Security Correspondent Paula Newton.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/09/17/yemen.blast/index.html