Reply #6: Suicide Attacks Foiled at 2 Oil Sites, Yemen Says [View All]

[ozymandius]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Sept. 15 — Security officials in Yemen said they thwarted two suicide bombings of oil installations in the southern and central regions of the country early Friday. The four attackers and a security guard were killed, Yemen’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Yemeni officials said an investigation was under way to determine who was behind the attacks, which came days after one of Al Qaeda’s top leaders, Ayman al-Zawahri, threatened strikes against oil facilities in the Middle East that he blamed for “stealing Muslim oil.” By late Friday, no group had claimed responsibility.

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The attacks occurred just days before voters are to cast ballots in a hotly contested election pitting President Ali Abdullah Saleh against four challengers. Political analysts accused the government on Friday evening of capitalizing on the incidents to help Mr. Saleh’s standing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/16/world/middleeast/16yemen.html?_r=1&oref=slogin