Audacious Attack in Yemeni Capital
British Convoy Escapes Attack In Yemen – New York Times
The British ambassador in Yemen narrowly escaped a suicide attack Monday, when a young man in a school uniform detonated his explosives belt near his armored car in a poor neighborhood of Sana’a.
Though no group has yet claimed responsibility for this attack, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is at this point the most likely culprit. If AQAP is in fact responsible, this attack highlights not only the degree of instability that exists in Yemen today even in the areas presumed to be the most firmly under government control, but also the fact that AQAP continues to maintain significant operational capability despite recent U.S. and Yemeni crackdowns on its cells and leadership. A single bombing attack is not necessarily indicative of a larger failure to suppress AQAP, but it demonstrates that despite a string of arrests and targeted killings it has sustained since December, the group still holds a level of capability and reach that U.S. and Yemeni efforts have yet to effectively restrict.
