The attack on the heavily protected security complex killed 11 and further bolstered U.S. concerns that Yemen's weak central government may not be up to tackling an increasingly effective foe seemingly able to strike anywhere inside or outside the country.
"We were hit where we least expected it," Yemeni Information Minister Hassan al-Lozy told the Al-Arabiya news channel. "This is a serious escalation from these terrorist elements."
U.S. officials say insurgents, including Americans, are training in militant camps in Yemen's vast lawless spaces and allying with powerful tribes opposed to the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Those concerns deepened last December, when al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the failed attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner.
In the wake of the Christmas attack, with U.S. aid, training and intelligence, Yemen's military and air force have struck repeatedly at al Qaeda sites and suspected hideouts, and arrested several suspects.
In a statement, the Yemeni government said the attacks bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda and resulted in the death of seven members of the security forces, three women and a child in the southern port city of Aden, about 200 miles south of the capital.
The fact that one of the most important security institutions in the country's second largest city could be attacked reflects the state's weakness, said analyst Mansour Hael, hinting that the attackers must have had inside help.
"The question to ask is how these attackers were able to infiltrate such a fortified security area. This raises a number of suspicions," he said.
The headquarters of the powerful intelligence agency is located in an upscale neighborhood of government offices overlooking the sea, flanked by the state television building and a branch of the Transport Ministry.
Comments
Post a Comment