Suicide bomber hits S Korean convoy in Yemen, no casualties

Suicide bomber hits S Korean convoy in Yemen, no casualties

SANAA, March 18-- A suicide bomber hit a convoy carrying the South Korean ambassador on its way to the Sanaa airport on Wednesday, a Yemeni security official said.



A forensic team collects evidence at the scene of a bombing where a suicide bomber blew himself up near Sanaa airport March 18, 2009. The bomber apparently targeted a convoy of South Koreans investigating an al-Qaida suicide that killed four Korean tourists this week, a security source said.

The convoy was carrying a team sent to investigate a bombing that killed four South Korean tourists on Sunday, but no one was hurt, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The explosion shattered the windows of one car of the convoy, which carried four South Korean officials, including two with the foreign ministry and police and intelligence representatives.

On Sunday, four South Korean tourists and their Yemeni guide were killed and six people wounded in an explosion which hit a number of South Korean tourists paying a visit to a mountainous area in the historical city of Shibam, Hadramawt Province.

Yemeni Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi said Monday that the explosion was a suicide attack by an al-Qaida militant, according to the official news agency SABA.

A security official said 12 Islamist suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack, and they are members of jihad groups believed to have information on the actual perpetrators of Sunday's bombing.


A forensic team collects evidence at the scene of a bombing where a suicide bomber blew himself up near Sanaa airport March 18, 2009. The bomber apparently targeted a convoy of South Koreans investigating an al-Qaida suicide that killed four Korean tourists this week, a security source said.


According to another local news report, the explosion was carried out by a teenager linked to al-Qaida.

South Korea has strongly condemned the terrorist bombing in a statement carried by its Yonhap news agency.

The foreign ministry said it has been informed by the Yemeni authorities that al-Qaida is responsible for the suicide attack, but it remains unclear whether the attack targeted South Koreans or unspecified foreigners.

Foreign tourists have been frequently targeted in the impoverished country located at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, which houses al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.

In January 2008, two Belgian tourists were killed by al-Qaida-inspired militants in the Hadramawt province.
(Xinhua)