[QODLink]
Middle East
Dozens arrested over Yemen attack
Yemeni president blames al-Qaeda for a suicide attack at the Queen of Sheba Temple.
Last Modified: 05 Jul 2007 09:21 GMT
The suicide bombing was the deadliest against foreign nationals since the USS Cole attack in 2000 [AFP]
Yemeni authorities have arrested dozens of people with suspected links to a suicide bombing that killed seven Spanish tourists and two Yemenis two days ago, security sources have said.

Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni president, and senior officials have suggested the group was behind the car bomb at the Queen of Sheba Temple on Monday.
"Tens of suspects who we believe have links to al-Qaeda have been arrested in three regions, Sanaa, Abyan and Aden," one official said.
A security source said on Monday that the bomber may be one of 13 convicted al-Qaeda members who escaped from prison in 2006, but Saleh said earlier that evidence so far indicated he was a non-Yemeni Arab.
 
 
The bomber crashed a car packed with explosives into the tourists' convoy as they were ending a tour of the archaeological site, which dates back 3,000 years to the time of the biblical Queen of Sheba, 150km from Sanaa.

Saleh has admitted that security services had been warned last week of an impending attack but did not know where or when it would take place.
 
"Security measures were taken around sensitive sites such as oil installations but we did not think of this temple," he said.
 
Yemen has been trying to attract tourist revenues to the impoverished country by promoting the temple as a major attraction.

"This incident is a blow to the national economy and will affect tourism, but should not affect investment," Saleh said.

Bodies returned

The remains of the three men and four women killed in the attack were returned to Spain on Tuesday. Five wounded people also returned.
 
"Preliminary information indicates that the al-Qaeda organisation is behind the cowardly attack"

Yemeni interior ministry official
Security sources said the attack came after al-Qaeda released a statement demanding the release of some of its members jailed in Yemen and threatening to take unspecified action.

"Preliminary information indicates that the al-Qaeda organisation is behind the cowardly attack," an interior ministry official told the state news agency on Monday.

Yemen has been fighting a domestic organisation linked to al-Qaeda which includes people on a "most-wanted" list issued by the US.
Source:
Agencies
Topics in this article
People
Country
Organisation
Featured on Al Jazeera
More and more people in the US are living in poverty - yet Mitt Romney's policies would further shred the safety net.
As the anniversary of the uprising nears, the country's rulers are denying foreigners entry and hiring PR firms.
Under Obama, six whistleblowers have been charged under the World War I-era Espionage Act.
Journalist who recently spent time with fighters says there is no central leadership to the armed resistance.
<  > 
join our mailing list

Enter Zip Code
Go