Word: yemenis
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...attack had gone according to plan, it would have killed or wounded countless U.S. diplomats in the ancestral homeland of Osama bin Laden within a week of the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Although Wednesday's attack on the U.S. embassy in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a left at least 16 people dead, the bravery and quick reaction of Yemeni security forces foiled what appeared to be a daring attempt to storm the embassy compound and kill everyone inside. One American of Yemeni origins was among the victims of the thwarted attack...
...brazen, sophisticated attack sparked fears in counterterrorism circles that al-Qaeda is gaining ground in Yemen, a key front in the Bush Administration's war on terror. A major purpose of the attack may have been to undermine Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Salih. Yemeni officials believe it may have come in retaliation for recent raids by Yemeni security forces against al-Qaeda in which senior militant Hamza al-Quaiti was killed. Militants had also threatened more attacks if Yemeni authorities fail to free detainees. Says Yemeni journalist Nasser Arrabyee: "Al-Qaeda and the security forces are in a serious confrontation...
...Yemeni source familiar with the initial government intelligence report on the incident told TIME that suspected militants tied to al-Qaeda were responsible and that it involved substantial weaponry, ample funding and elaborate planning. Officials believe the timing of the 9:15 a.m. attack was designed to catch security personnel off guard after their rising early for the predawn sohour meal before beginning the day's Ramadan fast. In an apparent effort to enter the embassy compound without firing a shot, the terrorists, officials believe, pulled up to the first perimeter checkpoint in a vehicle, impersonating uniformed Yemeni personnel...
...plan faltered at the first hurdle, when the Yemeni security guards refused the vehicle entry through the checkpoint. The militants then opened fire and detonated the bomb, which killed several guards and militants, eyewitnesses told journalists. The explosion set off a huge plume of black smoke over Sana'a as nervous U.S. diplomats, according to the source, headed for a specially designed secure room in the basement of the embassy building. One of the suicide bombers' arms was found later on a nearby street...
...that point, government sources say, the second vehicle raced past the carnage toward the embassy's front gate. Firing grenades and automatic weapons, the militants engaged Yemeni guards in a 20-min. battle but failed to penetrate the compound before all were killed. Yemeni officials said the casualties included six guards, six militants and four civilian bystanders...