Yemen arrests 30 after US embassy attack

Yemeni authorities have arrested 30 people suspected of belonging to al-Qa'ida following an attack on the heavily fortified US embassy in Sanaa, a security source said today.

Two suicide car bombs set off a series of explosions outside the embassy compound yesterday, killing 16 people including six attackers. The dead were all Yemeni apart from an Indian woman who was walking past when the attack happened.

"The security authorities want to investigate whether the suspects are linked to Wednesday's attack," the security source said.

A US embassy spokesman told Reuters Washington would send a number of teams to Yemen to help the authorities with their investigations.

The US State Department said on Wednesday the bombings bore "all the hallmarks" of an al-Qa'ida attack but the United States had not yet concluded who was to blame.

A group calling itself Islamic Jihad in Yemen, which is unrelated to the Palestinian group with a similar name, claimed responsibility.

It threatened attacks on other embassies, including those of Britain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, unless Yemen freed several jailed members.

"We will carry out the rest of the series of attacks on the other embassies that were declared previously, until our demands are met by the Yemeni government," the group said yesterday.

The US embassy spokesman said the embassy would stay open after Al Jazeera television said it had closed after the attack.