Incident Summary:
09/17/2008: On Wednesday, between 0915 and 0930, suspected Al Qaeda militants disguised as security forces detonated two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, fired rocket propelled grenades, rockets and firearms on the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, San'a, Yemen. A suicide bomber also blew himself up at the embassy. Six Yemeni police, four civilians, including an American civilian, and six attackers were killed while six others were wounded in the attack. Nineteen people were arrested in connection with the attack. The Islamic Jihad, a group connected with Al Qaeda in Yemen, claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack occurred at the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, San'a, Yemen.
Overview
GTD ID:
200809170002
When:
2008-09-17
Country:
Yemen
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Amanat Al Asimah
City:
Sanaa
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Government (Diplomatic) |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
United States Embassy |
| Specific Description |
The United States Embassy in Yemen |
| Nationality of Target |
United States |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Unknown |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Explosives |
Vehicle |
| Explosives |
Suicide (carried bodily by human being) |
| Explosives |
Projectile (rockets, mortars, RPGs, etc.) |
| Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| Two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, a suicide bomber, rocket propelled grenades, rockets and firearms were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | Yes |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Al-Qaida in Yemen |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Unknown) |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
19 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
16 Fatalities / 6 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
16 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
1 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
6 |
| Total Number of Injured |
6 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| Zain Verjee, Caroline Faraj and Mark Bixler, "Al Qaeda Blamed for U.S. Embassy Attack," Cable News Network, http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/09/17/yemen.blast/index.html. |
| Ian Black and James Orr, "Yemeni Police Arrest 19 After Deadly Suicide Bomb Attack on US Embassy," Guardian, September 18, 2008. |
| National Counterterrorism Center, "Six Security Guards, Three Civilians, One Nurse Killed, Three Civilians Wounded in VBIED and Armed Attack by al-Qaida in Yemen in Sanaa, San'a', Yemen," Worldwide Incidents Tracking System, September 3, 2009. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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