The Attack
The attack began at 09:15 a.m. local time (06:15 a.m. UTC) when attackers dressed as policemen, armed with rocket-propelled grenades, automatic rifles, grenades, and car bombs, attacked the outer security ring at the entrance of the main gate from a car. The embassy, located in the Dhahr Himyar district of Sana'a, is located 250 meters (820 feet) from this security entrance. A 20-minute battle ensued between the terrorists and the embassy security force, during which some embassy security forces were fired upon by snipers from across the road. In the midst of the battle, a car bomb exploded at a second security ring of concrete blocks in an unsuccessful attempt to blow a hole in the wall. Up to five explosions may have occurred during the attack.
Six members of the Yemeni security forces, six attackers (one of whom wore an explosives belt), and seven bystanders (one of whom was discovered later) were killed in the attack. Though no Americans working at the embassy were injured or harmed during the attack, Susan el-Baneh, a newly married woman from New York, was killed along with her Yemeni husband while waiting outside to fill out paperwork. At least sixteen people, mostly women and children, were treated at two hospitals for injuries.
Lackawanna, New York Yemeni-American Susan el-Baneh (Elbaneh), age 18, wed a Yemeni in August. She went to Yemen partly to help her new Yemeni husband obtain approval to enter the United States, and both spouses were in a line of civilians waiting to enter the embassy when the attackers opened fire. The Associated Press said Susan Elbaneh was a cousin of Jaber A. Elbaneh, who is on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorism suspects. Elbaneh's family said she had no relationship with her cousin and her sister Shokey Elbaneh commented "Like the people killed in 9/11, people killed in terrorist acts all over the place, we're the same victims."
Read more about this topic: 2008 Attack On The American Embassy In Yemen
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