September 17, 2008
Yemeni Islamic Jihad Claims US Embassy Attack in Yemen
Some new details on the attack and Yemeni Islamic Jihad:
Yemeni security forces repelled a complex attack on the US embassy in the capital of Sana'a. More than sixteen were killed after terrorists detonated multiple bombs then launched a ground attack in an attempt to breach the compound.
The attack begun after several bombs were detonated just outside the embassy. The terrorists then ambushed the first responders by using pre-positioned snipers. The terrorists were wearing uniforms of Yemeni security forces and driving what appeared to be police cars, which enabled them to get close to the heavily fortified compound.
A sustained firefight then ensued between the terrorists and the embassy guards. The exchange of fire included machine guns, RPGs and hand grenades according to one report. Six attackers were killed as well as a dozen Yemeni security forces. No US causalities were reported. The Yemeni embassy reported that one of the attackers was wearing a suicide vest.
A group calling itself Yemeni Islamic Jihad took credit for today's attack. The group last month claimed responsbility for a July suicide car bombing at a police station in Hadramout which killed one policeman and injured 18. The police station had been previously bombed with no injuries.
Yemeni Islamic Jihad issued a statement Tuesday threatening more attacks unless the Yemeni government met its demands for the release of several members from jail.
"We, the organization of Islamic Jihad in Yemen declare our responsibility for the suicide attack on the American embassy in Sanaa," the statement read.
"We will carry out the rest of the series of attacks on the other embassies that were declared previously, until our demands are met by the Yemeni government."
The former leader of Yemeni Islamic Jihad, Hamza al Quaity issued an audio statement in August threatening future attacks if al Qaeda prisoners were not released from jail. Yemeni press at the time reported the failure of negotiations between al Quaity and the head of the Political Security Organization, Ghalib al Qamish, who frequently negotiates truce agreements on behalf of the Yemeni government. Al Quaity said in his August statement, "As for you, oh [Ariel] Sharon of Yemen, [Political Security director] Ghalib Ba Gumesh, you'll see how our colleagues will be freed from your prisons, Allah willing." Al-Quaiti escaped prison in 2006 along with 22 other al-Qaeda operatives and was named by the Yemeni government as a participant in the 2007 suicide car bombing at a tourist site in Marib that killed eight elderly tourists. Al-Quaiti was killed in August.
Cross posted from Long War Journal
