U.S. Embassy in Yemen Attacked

A car bomb exploded at the American Embassy in Yemen on Wednesday. So far, there appear to have been sixteen casualties people, six guards, four civilians and four attackers. Initial reports by reporters said that there was a second explosion following, and that an exchange of fire followed, when attackers dressed in policy uniforms pulled up to the scene and began to fire on the guards. A CNN reporter nearby reported he heard three explosions:

Briton Trev Mason told CNN from Sanaa that he heard at least three big explosions around the embassy from his nearby residential compound.

"We heard the sounds of a heavy gunbattle going on. I looked out of my window and we saw the first explosion going off, a massive fireball very close to the US embassy," he said.

"The gunbattle went on for a further 10 to 15 minutes followed by two further loud explosions," he said.

The gunfight included the use of RPGs and hand grenades.

A group called Islamic Jihad in Yemen has taken responsibility for the attacks. The group also took responsibilty for an attack in Yemen in July. There are competing reports of the groups affiliations. Some maintain that the group has close ties to Al Qaeda, while others say it has none. The group, formed in the early 1990s, recruited heavily from Arab mujahideen, Arabs who had fought with Afghans in the Afghan-Soviet war.