A suicide terrorist, assumed to be from Al-Qaeda, detonated himself near the convoy of the British ambassador to Yemen early Monday, but succeeded in killing only himself. British Ambassador to Yemen Tim Torlot was on his way to the embassy in Sanaa when the attack occurred.
As of shortly after the attack, Al-Qaeda had not claimed responsibility, but Yemen has long been a target of Al-Qaeda. In September 2008, Al-Qaeda terrorists attacked the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, killing 19 people. In March of the same year, three missiles aimed at the same target missed their mark, hitting a girls' school.
A spokesperson for the British embassy confirmed to Reuters that there had been "an incident this morning involving a member of embassy staff," and said there were no UK or embassy member casualties.
Britain and the United States stated intentions to close their embassies in Yemen early this year in the face of Al-Qaeda threats. Both are heavily fortified, surrounded by large sand-bags and machine gun posts.