SANA, Yemen — The British ambassador in Yemen narrowly escaped a suicide attack Monday, when a young man in a school uniform detonated his explosives belt near the diplomat’s armored car in a poor neighborhood of the capital San’a, officials said.
The attack was the first such suicide bombing in the capital in a year, and it cast doubt on the effectiveness of the Yemeni government’s U.S.-backed campaign against al-Qaeda militants, who have found a haven in parts of the mountainous, impoverished nation where the central government’s control is weak.
Washington has stepped up counterterrorism aid to San’a over the past year, warning that al-Qaeda’s offshoot in Yemen has become a global threat, particularly after it claimed responsibility for the failed Christmas Day attempt to bomb an American jet liner heading for Detroit.
A British Embassy spokeswoman said the ambassador, Timothy Torlot, was unhurt in Monday morning’s attack, which wounded three bystanders, including a woman.
Only the bomber was killed.
The ministry identified the bomber as a 22-year-old high school student who hailed from the southern town of Taiz, in a district known to be popular with militants.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but it bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband condemned the attack, saying it strengthens British resolve to work closely with Yemen “to tackle international terrorism.”
