Yemeni authorities have stepped up security around the US embassy in Sanaa following Friday’s bomb blast in an adjacent neighborhood, a witness said.
"A dynamite charge went off at 2:40am in the Sheraton district to the east of the US embassy," the witness told AFP. An intelligence officer said that "security measures have been stepped up since morning in the streets leading to the embassy."
An unofficial source in the police force in charge of the district where the explosion took place said the blast "targeted an intelligence officer, not the US embassy." Police "defused a bomb planted near the home of the same officer around a week ago," the source said.
Meanwhile, an unknown group calling itself "Sympathizers of the Al Qaeda Organization," has claimed responsibility for recent explosions in Yemen and threatened to carry out suicide bombings unless authorities release 173 persons. (Albawaba.com)
