US embassy targeted in Yemen attack

The rocket landed around 200 meters from the heavily fortified embassy in the capital Sanaa on Saturday, hitting several members of the Yemeni police force who were guarding the compound. At least two were injured, authorities said.

Police told news agency Reuters that the rocket came from a M72 light anti-tank weapon fired from a car.

Shortly after the attack, the embassy said it did not believe it was the target of the rocket, and that Yemeni authorities were investigating.

Al Qaeda splinter group responsible

Several hours later however, Ansar al-Sharia, a Yemeni group associated with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), claimed responsibility for the assault.

"Ansar al-Sharia have targeted the US embassy in Sanaa with a (shoulder-launched) LAW rocket," the jihadist group said. The statement, published on Twitter, added that the rocket had wounded several Yemeni soldiers guarding the mission and damaged an armored vehicle.

The statement also claimed that the rocket was fired "in revenge for Muslim children targeted by a US drone" in the northern Jawf province on Friday. The United States regularly uses drones to attack Islamist militants in countries such as Yemen, and has provided aid and training to Yemeni counterterrorism forces, as part a campaign against al Qaeda militants in the region.

AQAP has been linked to a number of failed terror plots against the United States, and is one of the most active arms of the network founded by Osama bin Laden.

Deteriorating security situation

Saturday's attack comes after Washington urged US citizens to leave Yemen, citing political unrest and what it called an "unpredictable" security situation. On Thursday, the US announced it was reducing the number of government staff stationed in the Gulf state.

In recent weeks there have been violent clashes between Shiite Hawthi rebels and government forces in Sanaa, adding to instability since an uprising that led to the ouster of leader Ali Abdullah Saleh two years ago.

Last week the rebels swept across the capital, taking control of key state institutions, and demanding economic and political reforms. But state news agency Saba reported Saturday that the militants had signed a security deal stipulating disarmament and withdrawal from areas they have seized.

nm/ipj (Reuters, AFP, AP)