Suicide Bomber Tries To Kill British Ambassador To Yemen
Apr 26, 2010 1 Comment ›› Pat Dollard
A suspected suicide bomber today attacked a convoy carrying the British Ambassador to Yemen.
One person was killed but Tim Torlot, the ambassador, escaped unharmed after an explosion was reportedly set off near a convoy taking him to work this morning.
The person killed is believed to be the bomber, according to reports. It is understood he was wearing an explosive belt.
Mr Torlot had been on his way to the embassy through a impoverished area in the eastern part of the Yemeni capital of Sana’a.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We can confirm that there was an incident in Sana’a this morning.
“There was a small explosion beside the British Ambassador’s car. He was unhurt. No other embassy staff or British nationals were injured.
“The embassy will remain closed to the public for the time being.
“We advise all British nationals in Yemen to keep a low profile and remain vigilant. We are working urgently with the Yemen authorities to investigate what happened.â€
Mr Torlot, 52, became UK Ambassador to Yemen in 2007. His previous postings include deputy head of mission at the British Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
Mr Torlot’s private life has recently attracted attention after he reportedly moved his pregnant mistress, US journalist Jennifer Steil, into his official residence after his wife of 23 years returned home. The couple now have a baby daughter.
Yemen has been the focus of international concern about al Qaeda activity after the man suspected of attempting to blow up a US-bound airliner on Christmas Day, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was reported to have told FBI investigators that he was supplied with his bomb by followers of the group in Yemen.
Mr Abdulmutallab’s family in Nigeria have also suggested that he became radicalised during a visit to Yemen last year, where he was supposedly studying Arabic but is believed to have made contact with some of the estimated 300 al Qaeda militants based in the country.
The British Embassy in Yemen closed for two days in January for security reasons, one of a number of Western embassies – including those of the US and France – which shut their doors in the country amid concerns over a possible threat from al Qaeda militants.
Yemen’s government has recently pledged to work with the US in taking on hundreds of al Qaeda fighters who have built up strongholds in the country’s remote regions.
