Al-Qaeda's menacing presence in Yemen

On 2 July 2007, a suicide bomber drove his vehicle into a group of Spanish tourists in the Marib governorate, 140km east of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, killing seven tourists, two local Yemenis and injuring a further six people. The attack, allegedly carried out by an al-Qaeda linked militant, occurred near an ancient temple to the Queen of Sheba (or Bilquis). The tourists were preparing to leave the area with their police escort when the bomber struck. This attack is one of the most severe on foreign interests in recent years and provides an example of the ongoing high threat from terrorism in this impoverished country. It also comes at a time when 36 members of al-Qaeda are standing trial in Yemen for planning and carrying out terror attacks. Several of these militants are still on the run, after they escaped from a Sanaa prison in February 2006.

Yemen is a country deeply connected to al-Qaeda. This is evidenced by the disproportionally large number of Yemenis within al-Qaeda's ranks and by the fact that Yemen is the ancestral home of al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden. Yemen has also been the scene of numerous al-Qaeda attacks since the 1990s. More recently, in September 2006, militant groups carried out attempted attacks against two oil facilities in Marib and in the Dhabah region of Hadramawt. This attack followed the bombing of the US navy vessel, the USS Cole, in October 2000 and other minor attacks on the British, US and Turkish embassies. In 2002 al-Qaeda also claimed responsibility for an attack on an oil tanker off the Yemeni coast.

The 2 July bombing in Marib follows recent warnings from al-Qaeda that it would carry out attacks against government interests in Yemen. On 30 June 2007 it threatened to carry out unspecified attacks if its captured members were not released from Yemeni jails. On 1 May 2007 al-Qaeda in Yemen also purportedly told a local journalist that it was preparing to carry out attacks against members of the Yemeni security forces. This they said was in retaliation for the alleged torture of al-Qaeda suspects while in police detention, and for other attacks against the al-Qaeda leadership, most notably the assassination in 2002 of the head of al-Qaeda operations in Yemen, Abu Ali al-Harithi. To highlight this threat, al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the 29 March 2007 slaying of Ali Mahmud Qasaylah, the chief criminal investigator in the Marib governorate. General warnings have also been issued in the past by the group, threatening to target Westerners and Western interests.

Despite the Yemeni government's well-publicised support for the war on terrorism, it faces a number of internal problems that are likely to divert attention away from efforts to combat terrorism. It faces a Shiite sedition in the northern Saada governorate, strong opposition from pro-independence groups in the southern regions, high levels of poverty and government corruption, and as witnessed by the recent attack, an inability to defend foreign interests against extremist attacks. The strength of local tribal groups also makes policing large swathes of territory problematic.

As such, despite Yemen's repeated promises to beef up security at foreign embassies and offices the likelihood of further attacks against Western interests remains a distinct possibility. Even though most visits to the country pass without incident, travellers wishing to visit Yemen are urged to remain cognizant of the high threat from terrorism in the country. They should if at all possible maintain a low profile while in the country. The latest attack also shows that a police escort, while advisable, is no guarantee of a safe trip.