SANAA, April 26, 2010 (AFP) - Yemen's interior ministry said Monday a suicide attack on the convoy of the British ambassador in Sanaa appeared to be the work of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda jihadist network.
"The failed terrorist attack that targeted the British ambassador in Sanaa carries the fingerprints of Al-Qaeda," said the interior ministry website, citing security authorities.
It confirmed that ambassador Timothy Torlot escaped the attack in which a suicide bomber threw himself at the convoy of the diplomat "wearing an explosive belt."
The British foreign office reported that Torlot, in Yemen since 2007, was not hurt in the attack and announced that the British mission was to remain closed to public "for the time being".
The American and British missions in Sanaa were shut for some days in January following indications that the local branch of Al-Qaeda was targeting Western interests in the Arabian Peninsula country.
The warning followed the botched Christmas Day bombing of a US airliner which was claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) -- the local Al-Qaeda franchise.
