Gulf | Yemen
Yemen arrests 30 suspected militants over suicide bombings at US embassy
Yemeni authorities have arrested 30 people suspected of belonging to Al Qaida following an attack on the heavily fortified US embassy in Sana'a, a security source said on Thursday.
- Agencies
- Published: 23:40 September 18, 2008
Sana'a: Yemeni authorities have arrested 30 people suspected of belonging to Al Qaida following an attack on the heavily fortified US embassy in Sana'a, a security source said on Thursday.
Two suicide car bombs set off a series of explosions outside the embassy compound on Wednesday, killing 16 people including six attackers. The dead were all Yemeni apart from an Indian woman who was walking past.
"The security authorities want to investigate whether the suspects are linked to the attack," the security source said. A Yemeni security source said Washington would send investigators to Yemen to help the authorities.
The arrests came as Washington issued a travel warning for Yemen, asking US citizens to "defer non-essential travel". The State Department also confirmed that a young American woman and her Yemeni husband were killed in the attack.
A spokesman said officials have verified reports the family of Susan Al Baneh that the 18-year-old was among the victims of Wednesday's attack. Her brother says Al Baneh, who was recently wed in Yemen in an arranged marriage, was outside the embassy with her husband apparently waiting to complete paperwork.
The Yemeni Interior Ministry listed the dead as six Yemeni soldiers, four civilians and six attackers. Yemeni security sources said the attackers were disguised in military uniforms and had made their cars look like those driven by Yemen's security forces. They had planned to use their disguises to get inside the compound to the main embassy building which is some distance from the gate.
Yemeni security forces set up check points in Sana'a, particularly around embassies and areas where foreign diplomats and business people live. A US embassy spokesman said the embassy would stay open after Al Jazeera television said it had closed after the attack.
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