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EXPLOSION HEARD NEAR U.S. EMBASSY IN YEMEN
Reuters (excerpt) ^ | September 17, 2008
Posted on September 17, 2008 12:05:21 AM PDT by HAL9000
EXPLOSION HEARD NEAR U.S. EMBASSY IN YEMEN -AL-ARABIYA TV
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/16/missing.plane/index.html
Updated 10:13 p.m. EDT, Tue September 16, 2008
“Missing plane sought along U.S.-Mexico border”
Note: To read the entire report; click on the link below.
#
ICC-CCS.ORG - THE WEEKLY PIRACY REPORT - REPORT SNIPPET - QUOTE:
http://www.icc-ccs.org/prc/piracyreport.php
Weekly Piracy Report
9-15 September 2008
The following is a summary of the daily reports broadcast by the IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre to ships in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions on the SafetyNET service of Inmarsat-C from 9 to 15 September 2008.
ALERT
Gulf of Aden
Masters using the Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) while transiting the Gulf of Aden are not relieved of their obligation and should continue to maintain a strict 24 hour look out using all available means to get an early warning of an approaching threat. Early indication of a piratical incident will enable the master to contact the Coalition Navies, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre and respond appropriately to prevent boarding.
Nigeria
Violent attacks carried out by pirates on board vessels at anchor and vessel carrying out STS operations. Mariners are advised to exercise extreme caution in these waters.
Chittagong anchorage, Bangladesh
The number of attacks has reduced since 2006. However, the area is still listed as a high risk area and mariners are advised to be cautious especially while approaching the anchorage and while at anchor at Chittagong
Suspicious crafts
None reported
Recently reported incidents
08.09.2008: 0500 LT: Tincan Island container terminal - berth no. 4, Lagos, Nigeria.
Duty AB, onboard a container ship detected a suspicious boat. Upon checking, he discovered one robber had already boarded. There were six more persons in the boat. Crew alerted and they rushed towards the robber. When robber realized he had been detected, he jumped overboard and escaped with the others in the boat.
14.09.2008: 1435 UTC: Posn: 13:38.87N – 048:59.00E: Gulf of Aden.
Duty officer onboard a bulk carrier noticed a mother vessel (red colour) releasing speed boats, which approached the vessel. Six pirates in the speedboat opened fire on the vessel. Master contacted the coalition warships but no response. Anti piracy measures were enforced, the speedboats followed for about 10 minutes and later aborted.
13.09.2008: 0500 UTC: 02:10N - 054:37E Off Somalia.
Three white coloured speed boats, possibly, from a mother ship, fired on and tried to close onto a fishing vessel underway. The master increased speed and moved away.
13.09.2008: 0300 LT: Posn: 09:57.75N - 076:15.79E, Warf no.Q4, Cochin Port, India.
Two robbers armed with knives boarded a general cargo ship moored to buoys. They broke pad locks of forward store. Alarm raised and crew mustered. Upon hearing the alarm, robbers escaped empty handed in a wooden boat with eight accomplices. Port control and coast guard informed.
12.09.2008: 1513 UTC: Posn: 13:24N - 048:20E, Gulf of Aden.
Eight pirates, in a skiff, chased a general cargo ship underway. They fired upon the ship and attempted to board. Master contacted the coalition warships. A helicopter intervened and the pirates aborted the attempt.
10.09.2008: 0657 UTC: Posn: 13:09.6N-047:57.0E: Gulf of Aden.
Pirates boarded and hijacked a bulk carrier underway. 21 crew taken hostage. Further reports awaited.
10.09.2008: 0343 UTC: Posn: 12:39.4N – 048:23E: Gulf of Aden.
One speedboat chased and fired on a bulk carrier underway. The vessel took evasive actions and contacted the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre for assistance. Duty officer at the Centre informed the coalition navy. Coalition navy sent a warship and a helicopter that flew over the speedboat and interrupted the attack. The pirates aborted the attack. The vessel continued her passage to destination port. No damage to vessel and no injury to crew.
09.09.2008: 0200 LT: Vung Tau anchorage Vietnam.
Duty AB, onboard a container ship at anchor, noticed one robber attempting to board via the anchor chain. Crew alerted. On seeing the alert crew, the robbers jumped overboard and escaped in a waiting boat.
08.09.2008: Posn: 12:45.48N - 046:05.3E: Gulf of Aden.
About ten speedboats chased a tanker underway. Master took evasive manoeuvres and contacted the coalition naval forces for help. A coalition aircraft arrived at location. The speedboats aborted the attack.
08.09.2008: 0400 UTC: Posn: 12:54.2N - 046:04.2E: Gulf of Aden.
Two high-speed boats crossed the bow of a container ship underway at a distance of one nm and then turned towards the ship. Master altered course in a threatening way to hit the speedboats. As the boats got closer, the master observed that the persons onboard were carrying guns. Later the boats aborted the attempt.
07.09.2008: 2030 LT: Off Tioman Island, Malaysia.
About 15 pirates armed with long knives boarded and hijacked a tug towing a barge. The tug / barge were enroute to Thailand from Singapore in ballast. The pirates landed the seven Indonesian crewmembers on Tioman Island. The seven-crew members lodged a police report on the island. The tug / barge are still missing.
06.09.2008: 0240 LT: Tanjung Bara anchorage, Indonesia.
Robbers boarded a bulk carrier at anchor, via the forecastle and stole ship’s stores. Alarm raised and crew mustered. Robbers escaped.
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16 dead in suicide attack on U.S. Embassy in Yemen
CNN ^ | September 17, 2008
Posted on September 17, 2008 4:12:35 AM PDT by rightwingintelligentsia
(CNN) — A suicide bomb attack Wednesday outside the gates of the U.S. Embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa killed 10 security staff and civilians and six attackers, an embassy spokesman told CNN.
Mohammed al-Basha said the blast, described by witnesses as a “fireball,” was caused by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest.
A Yemeni security official said there was a gun battle between attackers in police uniform and security staff.
The second car exploded after it passed an outermost gate to the Embassy but before it reached a second protective barrier, the official said.
Another U.S. Embassy spokesman, Ryan Gliha, said an initial explosion at 9.15 am local time (0615 GMT/2.15 ET), was followed by several secondary explosions.
No U.S. Embassy employees were killed, a senior State Department official told CNN. It was unclear whether the main explosion was caused by a car bomb or rocket-propelled grenade, the official said.
The heavily-fortified compound in the capital of Yemen — the ancestral home of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden — has previously been targeted by attacks that have prompted authorities to evacuate non-essential staff.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
43 posted on September 17, 2008 4:16:03 AM PDT by Cindy
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British consulate in Yemen threatened after car bomb kills 16 outside U.S. embassy
Daily Mail ^ | September 17, 2008
Posted on September 17, 2008 4:13:52 AM PDT by Schnucki
The British embassy in Yemen has been threatened with attack after 16 people died when a car bomb exploded outside the American embassy this morning.
The heavily-fortified compound was on fire after the two explosions. Heavy gunfire was also heard and smoke seen rising from the compound, witnesses said. A Yemeni security source said 16 people including six attackers died in the attack. Four were bystanders.
A group calling itself Islamic Jihad in Yemen took credibility for the attack. It also threatened that it would target the British, Saudi and Emirati missions in the Yemeni capital, according to a statement received by AFP.
Islamic Jihad has roots in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and is affiliated with Al Qaeda. The Egyptian branch was led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, who merged it with Al Qaeda in 1998.
It had threatened in a previous statement on Tuesday to launch a series of attacks unless the Yemeni government met its demands for the release of several members from jail.
“We, the organisation of Islamic Jihad in Yemen declare our responsibility for the suicide attack on the American embassy in Sanaa,” the statement read.
“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.”
Initial reports suggested the attackers, who were said to be dressed as soldiers, managed to get through numerous checkpoints on the road leading to the embassy.
Only when they reached the gate of the embassy did someone check their identity. At that point they detonated a bomb, opened gunfire on the compound and launched rocket-propelled grenades.
Yemeni officials were not immediately available to comment on the cause of the blasts or the number of casualties, but ambulances and fire engines rushed to the scene
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
44 posted on September 17, 2008 4:18:28 AM PDT by Cindy