British embassy vehicle attacked in Yemen

A British Embassy vehicle was attacked in Yemen today, the Foreign Office said.

People were inside the vehicle but there have been no reports of casualties among British Embassy staff.

The mortar attack happened in the capital Sana’a this morning.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We can confirm that there has been an attack involving a British Embassy vehicle.

“There are no British Embassy casualties.”

An official in Yemen said the mortar round had targeted a British diplomatic motorcade, wounding three bystanders.

In April, the British ambassador in Yemen escaped unharmed after a suicide bomber wearing a school uniform detonated an explosives belt.

The blast, which bore the hallmarks of al Qaida, happened as Tim Torlot, 52, travelled to work in Sana’a.

Mr Torlot’s armoured car was travelling through a neighbourhood in the eastern part of Sana’a known to be popular with militants when the explosion happened.

The bomber – a 22-year-old man – was killed.

It came after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab - the man suspected of attempting to blow up a US-bound airliner on Christmas Day - reportedly told investigators that he was supplied with his bomb by al Qaida members in Yemen.

Nigerian-born Abdulmutallab’s family have also suggested that he became radicalised during a visit last year to Yemen, where he was supposedly studying Arabic but is believed to have made contact with some of the estimated 300 al Qaida militants based in the country.