British embassy attacked

A YEMENI police guard at the British Embassy in S’ana was killed yesterday(ok) in a shoot-out, the British ambassador said.

“As far as I know, at least one policeman was killed in the battle,” Ambassador Frances Jay told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from inside the embassy, where she and her staff were holed up as the shooting continued.

“The fight was triggered when the guards ordered a car to move away from the embassy premises, but the men in the car refused to comply,” Ms Jay said. “They threatened the guards and dragged one of them to their car.”

“There were no injuries among the British Embassy staff, but we can hear the bullets coming in our direction,” the ambassador said. Two injured men were taken away by ambulance. It was unclear whether they were guards or attackers.

A Yemeni security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he had no details on what set off the shooting. He said all roads leading to the embassy were blocked.

Supporters of al-Qaida, the terrorist network believed to be behind the September 11 attacks, have claimed responsibility for a recent wave of bombings targeting security officials, government offices and foreign embassies in Yemen.

Yemen’s support for the US war on terror is thought to have prompted the attacks.

The October 2000 attack on the destroyer USS Cole that killed 17 American sailors in the Yemeni port of Aden was blamed on al-Qaida.

Yemen has long been a fertile al-Qaida recruiting ground and has vast tribal areas beyond government control where al-Qaida members are believed to be hiding.

Al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia to a family that hails from Yemen.