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Attack on US Embassy in Yemen Kills 16

'Multiple casualties' in car bomb blast at gates

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 17, 2008 6:03 AM CDT

(Newser) – A car bomb at the gates of the American embassy in Yemen has caused at least 16 casualties, a US spokesman inside the embassy told AP. Two car bombs were followed by a gun battle between attackers and guards, said Yemeni officials. Hundreds of heavily armed troops have now surrounded the embassy. The dead included at least six Yemeni security guards, six attackers and four civilians, CNN reported. No embassy employees were killed, said a US official.

A medical official said several Yemenis, including children, had been taken to a nearby hospital. The situation inside the embassy remains calm and the building has not been damaged, an official told the BBC. A group calling itself Islamic Jihad in Yemen has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to an Arabic TV station. The group has threatened to attack other embassies in the Yemeni capital.

[Images (5)]

[Videos (1)]

Map locates San'a, Yemen, where a car bomb hit the US Embassy. (AP Photo)

A police vehicle drives near the US embassy in San'a, Yemen, today after a car bomb hit the front gate of the compound, resulting in "multiple" casualties. (AP Photo)

In this frame grab from al-Arabiya television Yemeni security and medical officials take up positions around the US Embassy in San'a Yemen today. (AP Photo)

This is an image taken from Al Jazeera TV on Wednesday Sept. 17, 2008, showing flames and smoke rising from a vehicle outside the US Embassy in San'a Yemen. (AP Photo/Al Jazeera)

Barrier guards gates to the US Embassy compound in San'a, Yemen. (AP Photo/Delta Scientific Corporation)

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Witness describes an explosion outside the US embassy in Yemen. (kingsubmaster)

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Attack on US Embassy in Yemen Kills 16