Plan of car bomb attacks against 3 embassies foiled: BaselessNews of car bomb attack plan denied [Archives:2003/674/Front Page]

Sana'a, Oct 4 – News reports released on Wednesday about a plot of car bomb attacks against the US, UK, and German embassies turned out to be untrue, according to an official. It was reported on Wednesday that the Yemeni government had foiled car bomb attacks against three embassies in the capital Sana'a. However, official sources have said that the news item was “baseless” and a denial message was sent to the agency that published it saying that the report was not true.
According to Arab News, “Security forces seized three vehicles packed with explosives intended to be used in bombing the US, UK and German embassies, a Western diplomat in Sana'a said.”
“The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Yemeni Interior Ministry alerted embassies of Western countries after the seizure of the cars over the weekend. He said the would-be attackers used fake diplomatic license plates for the three cars that were intercepted in different parts of Sana'a. Yemeni officials refused to comment.”
It was also mentioned in the news report that the attack plans may have been prepared by the “Qaeda of Jihad” movement, which has threatened to attack Yemeni officials and foreign interests in Yemen. However, official sources said that the said movement is a mere hoax and that there is no such organization capable of carrying out such attacks in Yemen.
No official response from the government of Yemen has come out yet. Observers believe that this may be an attempt to make the issue appear in low profile and not invite any further inquiries or questions about it.
Furthermore, Al-Balagh Weekly had also stated that five Islamist organizations announced in a statement that they had merged to set up a group called the “Qaeda of Jihad”, and threatened to stage attacks against top Yemeni officials and foreign interests.
According to the newspaper, “Al-Qaeda has been strategically restructured to be named the Qaeda of Jihad, the international organization for fighting Zionists and crusaders.”
Officials believe that such movements are mere propaganda coming out of computer geeks who wish to bring an illusion that they are capable of carrying out terrorist activities.
The paper added that the Qaeda of Jihad group was formed by “merging Al-Qaeda with the Egyptian Jihad Organization, the Yemeni Jihad Organization, the (Yemeni) Aden-Abyan Islamic Army, the Organization of Descendants of Companions (of the Prophet Muhammad) in the land of the Arabian Peninsula, and the Algerian Al-Dawa Al-Salafia group.”
According to Al-Balagh, the new group threatened to stage “wide-range assassinations that target Prime Minister (Abdul-Qader Ba-Jammal) and members of his Cabinet.”
The news about the planned car bomb attacks has caused concern for those who planned to arrive to Yemen for tourism and business visits.
“I just hope that the news about the plan is indeed untrue as the news item has caused us some concern.” a European diplomat said.
The diplomat, who asked not to reveal his name said, “We are awaiting the clear and accurate facts about this attack plan. We are confident that the authorities will provide the security needed for European embassies in Yemen.”
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