A bomb exploded outside the American Embassy in the Yemeni capital ‘San’aa on Wednesday morning. There was also gunfire heard in the neighborhood.
"This morning at approximately 9:15 am, a car exploded outside the front gate at the U.S. Embassy here in ‘San’aa,” embassy spokesman Ryan Gliha [1] said just moments after the attack. “There was an initial explosion followed by several secondary explosions and we have reports of casualties. We do not know the number, type or nationalities of those injured at this point.”
Reports from the scene and local hospitals suggest several people were killed and wounded.
The embassy building is heavily fortified, as are most U.S. embassies in the Middle East and North Africa, guarded by both local and American soldiers. Initial reports suggested the attackers, who were said to be dressed as soldiers, managed to get through numerous checkpoints on the road leading to the embassy. Only when they reached the gate of the embassy did someone check their identity. At that point they detonated a bomb, opened gunfire on the compound and launched rocket-propelled grenades.
In March, three mortar rounds were fired towards the embassy but missed, landing in a girls’ school next door, killing a Yemeni security guard. The embassy ordered its entire non-essential staff to leave the country a month later, and only recently were staff allowed to return.