Yemen identifies bomber behind attack at British envoy
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Yemeni authorities identified a suicide bomber who targeted the convoy of British ambassador to Yemen Tim Torlot who escaped the attack, a Yemeni official said Monday.
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British ambassador to Yemen Tim Torlot survived a suicide attack suspected to be launched by al- Qaida that targeted his convoy in Sanaa on Monday. [Xinhua/AFP Photo] |
The Yemeni Defense Ministry's website 26Sep.net quoted a security official as saying that the bomber was identified as 22- year-old Osman Ali Noman Asaloi from the southern Yemeni province of Taiz.
The suicide bomber, whose remains were scattered following the explosion, was identified by his face, according to the report.
Earlier, a security official at the Interior Ministry told Xinhua the bomber ignited an explosive charge he was carrying when Torlot's convey was passing by, but the diplomat survived the attack uninjured, as the explosion was not strong.
Yemeni Interior Ministry said in a statement posted on its website that the attack "carries the fingerprints of al-Qiada."
The initial investigation indicated that the bomber had received training in Marib province, according to the report.
Eyewitnesses said three Yemeni citizens were wounded in the attack, as the Yemeni security forces cordoned off the area surrounding the British embassy.
Al-Qaida group has not claimed the responsibility for the attack till now, but the security official said the attack follows their "traditional tactics."
The British embassy closed down after the attack.
On Jan. 3, Britain and the United States announced that their embassies in Yemen temporarily closed due to threats by al-Qaida's branch in Yemen.
Yemen, the ancestral homeland of al-Qaida world network leader Osama bin Laden, has launched intensified security operations and air raids against terrorist groups, after Yemen-based al-Qaida wing claimed responsibility for a botched Christmas Day attempt to blow up a U.S. plane over Detroit.
