2009 Yemeni tourist attacks

Last updated
2009 Shibam bombing
Part of the al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
2009 Yemeni tourist attacks
LocationKhazzan hill, Shibam, Hadhramaut Governorate, Yemen
Coordinates 15°55′04″N48°37′57″E / 15.9177°N 48.6324°E / 15.9177; 48.6324
Date15 March 2009 (2009-03-15)
c. 09:15 a.m. AST (UTC+03:00)
Target South Korean tourists
Attack type
 Suicide bombing
Deaths6 (including the perpetrator)
Injured3
PerpetratorIslamic State flag.svg Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

Two explosions targeting tourists in Yemen took place in mid-March 2009. Sixteen South Korean tourists were in Shibam, Yemen, at the time of the first blast. Four Korean tourists alongside their local Yemeni guide were killed in the first attack on 15 March, while three more tourists were injured. Relatives of the victims were involved in the second blast on 18 March but the only fatality was the bomber. The initial attack followed numerous calls by members of the Al-Qaeda military network to attack visitors in the region.

Contents

Background

AQAP was formed two months prior to the attack in a merger of al-Qaeda's branches in Yemen and in Saudi Arabia. [1] Leaders of al-Qaeda in Yemen had frequently called upon attacks against non-Muslim foreigners within the Arabian Peninsula. [2] The group had previously launched a suicide bombing killing Spanish tourists in Marib in July 2007 and an attack on a convoy of Belgian tourists travelling through Wadi Dawan in January 2008, the latter being approximately 2.5 miles from Shibam. [3] [4]

Shibam, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Yemen for its tall mud-brick buildings built in the 16th century. [5]

Shibam attack

Bombing

The attack targeted a group of 16 South Korean tourists as well as two travel agency staff travelling through Shibam a via a convoy of jeeps. [6] [7] It occured as the convoy had reached the Khazzan hill which overlooks the city. [8] While viewing the sunset from the hill, a teenager and a man in his early forties claiming to be his father approached the tourists and began a conversation with them. [9] The teenager asked to be photographed with the tourists, to which they obliged. [10] At around 5:50 p.m. AST (UTC+3), [7] [9] the teenager detonated an explosive belt [11] while posing with the tourists in front of the cities buildings. [6] [5] The blast was strong enough to be heard more than 2 miles away in the al-Qubah district of Shibam. [4]

Casualties

The blast killed four tourists, two men and two women, and injured an additional four South Koreans. [5] The killed tourists were identified as 70-year-old Park Bong-gan, 64-year-old Kim In-hye, 59-year-old Joo Yong-cheol and 55-year-old Shin Hye-yoon. The latter two were reportedly a married couple. [7]

A Yemeni tour guide wounded in the attack later died of his injuries in hospital, raising the death toll to five. [12] The number of injuries was later revised to three tourists. [13]

Perpetrator

An initial report on the attack from the state-sponsored Saba News Agency suggested that the bomber was "tricked into wearing an explosives vest." [6] However, in their claim of responsibility, AQAP stated that the perpetrator "carried out a martyrdom-seeking operation" and referred to him as "Abu Obeida al-Jarrah." [2] [14]

Conflicting reports emerged of the bomber's identity, one report identifying him as Ali Muhsin al-Ahmad, a 19-year-old Yemeni from Taiz who travelled to Somalia in January to train for the attack. Before the attack, the bomber allegedly wrote a letter to his mother stating that his family would never see him again and that he was on the "true path." [15]

Aftermath

The Yemeni government immediately launched an inquiry after the bombing. [8] A local official initially suggested that the blast could have been due to remnants of dynamite from a mine or a pre-planted bomb, though later confirmed to be an AQAP suicide attack. [16] [11] A local newspaper reported that the remains of an unidentified man were found at the site. [11]

The South Korean government called an emergency meeting in the aftermath of the attack. [12] South Korean foreign minister Yu Myung-hwan sent condolences to the victims of the attack and called for a thorough investigation into it during a phone call with Yemeni foreign minister Abu Bakr al-Qurbi. [13] [17] The Ministry announced that it would issue a travel advisory across all of Yemen after the attack, urging its citizens to leave. [7] [12] On 16 March the government sent a four-person investigative team to the country composed of two foreign ministry officials, a representative of the Korean National Police Agency and another for the Korean National Intelligence Service. [18] [12]

The remaining tourists were transferred to a nearby hospital immediately after the attack. [7] The three injured tourists along with the other unharmed nine left from Sanaa on their way back to South Korea on the morning of March 16. [11]

March 2009 Sanaa bombing
Part of the al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
Location Sanaa, Sanaa Governorate, Yemen
Date18 March 2009 (2009-03-18)
TargetSouth Korean delegation
Attack type
Suicide bombing
Deaths1 (perpetrator)
Injured0
PerpetratorIslamic State flag.svg Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

Sanaa attack

The 18 March attack took place when a convoy of South Korean investigators and the relatives of the victims of the previous attack were journeying from their Sana'a hotel to an airport. A young man walked between two cars and detonated his explosive vest, killing himself. According to AFP, Yemeni security officials stated that they had found a fragment of the bomber's identity card. [6] The fragment revealed his address and showed that he was a 20-year-old student. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

In its war on terrorism in Yemen, the US government describes Yemen as "an important partner in the global war on terrorism". There have been attacks on civilian targets and tourists, and there was a cargo-plane bomb plot in 2010. Counter-terrorism operations have been conducted by the Yemeni police, the Yemeni military, and the United States Armed Forces.

On 15 September 2006, four militants attempted suicide attacks on two different oil facilities in Yemen. Two militants each driving car bombs attempted to target an oil storage facility at the Canadian-Yemeni al-Dhabba Port in Hadhramaut governorate, but their vehicles exploded prematurely after security opened fire on them, killing a guard. Another two militants tried car bombing the Safer oil refinery in Marib governorate shortly after, though they too were killed before their vehicles could reach the target. The attacks, which were claimed by al-Qaeda in Yemen (AQY), served as the first major operation carried out by the group since its revival in February of the same year.

The following is a list of attacks which have been carried out by Al-Qaeda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula</span> Islamist militant organization in Yemen

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP is a Sunni Islamist militant organization which seeks to overthrow the Yemeni government and establish an Islamic emirate. Part of the al-Qaeda network, the group is based and primarily active in Yemen, while also conducting operations in Saudi Arabia. It is considered the most active of al-Qaeda's affiliates that emerged after the weakening of central leadership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Marib suicide car bombing</span> Suicide car bombing and casualties in Marib

On 2 July 2007, a car bomber drove into a convoy of Spanish tourists visiting the Queen of Sheba temple near Marib in Marib Governorate, Yemen. The suicide bombing killed eight tourists along with two of their Yemeni drivers. Al-Qaeda in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qasim al-Raymi</span> Yemeni al-Qaeda member (1978–2020)

Qasim Yahya Mahdi al-Raymi was a Yemeni militant who was the emir of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Al-Raymi was one of 23 men who escaped in the 3 February 2006 prison-break in Yemen, along with other notable al-Qaeda members. Al-Raymi was connected to a July 2007 suicide bombing that killed eight Spanish tourists. In 2009, the Yemeni government accused him of being responsible for the running of an al-Qaeda training camp in Abyan province. After serving as AQAP's military commander, al-Raymi was promoted to leader after the death of Nasir al-Wuhayshi on 12 June 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibrahim al-Asiri</span> 21st-century member of al-Qaeda

Ibrahim Hassan Tali al-Asiri was a citizen of Saudi Arabia suspected of being chief bomb-maker of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. He was reported to have been responsible for making the bombs used by his brother Abdullah al-Asiri in his suicide bombing, the 2009 Christmas Day bomb plot, the 2010 cargo plane bomb plot, and the May 8th 2012 Terror Plot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen</span> Ongoing conflict

The Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen is an ongoing armed conflict between the Yemeni government, the United States and their allies, and al-Qaeda-affiliated groups in Yemen. It is a part of the Global War on Terror.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Unity Day parade rehearsal bombing</span> Terrorist attack in Yemen

On 21 May 2012, a suicide bomber attacked Yemeni soldiers hereasing for annual Unity Day military parade in Sana'a, Yemen. The attack, which unsuccessfully targeted Yemeni Defense Minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, killed at least 96 soldiers and wounded 222, making it one of the worst in Yemen's history. The bombing was claimed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula affiliate Ansar al-Sharia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Abyan offensive</span>

The 2012 Abyan offensive was an offensive by the Yemeni military against Islamist militant forces, possibly including elements of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), in the province of Abyan with the purpose of re-capturing the militant-held towns of Zinjibar and Jaʿār.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansar al-Sharia (Yemen)</span> Militant Jihadist organization in Yemen

Jama'at Ansar al-Shari'a, also known as Ansar al-Shari'a, is a Yemen-based umbrella organization which includes units from several militant Islamic groups of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). In 2011, AQAP created Ansar Al-Sharia as a Yemen-based affiliate focused on waging an insurgency rather than international attacks on the West. In the view of the International Crisis Group, AQAP is "an internally diverse organisation with varying layers of support among the local population" and many AAS members and allies are not committed to AQAP's international agenda.

The Battle of Radda was a military confrontation in March 2013, initially launched by Al-Qaeda in an apparent reprisal for the Yemen army's offensive against their stronghold of al-Manasseh following the collapse of talks to free the three Western hostages believed to be held in the area, of whom a Finnish couple and an Austrian man who were studying Arabic in Yemen, when they were snatched by local tribesmen in the capital city of Sanaa, where they were then sold to al-Qaeda militants and transferred to the southern province of al-Bayda, where the city of al-Manasseh is located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Yemeni Ministry of Defense attack</span> 2013 militant attack in Yemen

On 5 December 2013, a coordinated terrorist attack occurred targeting the Ministry of Defense complex in Sana'a, Yemen. Heavily armed militants utilized a car bomb to breach the gates of the complex before storming it and occupying a hospital within it. The attack, which killed 52 people and injured 167, was claimed by Ansar al-Sharia, an affiliate of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). AQAP later issued an apology for the attack after footage from within the hospital was broadcast showing the gunmen murdering medical personnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drone strikes in Yemen</span> United States drone strikes in Yemen

United States drone strikes in Yemen started after the September 11 attacks in the United States, when the US military attacked the Islamist militant presence in Yemen, in particular Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula using drone warfare.

"Yemeni crisis (2011–present)" refers to events of the Houthi insurgency in Yemen, the Yemeni revolution, the Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen and the South Yemen insurgency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">March 2015 Sanaa mosque bombings</span> Four suicide attacks on 20 March 2015 in Sanaa, Yemen

The 2015 Sana'a mosque bombings were four suicide attacks targeting two mosques on 20 March 2015 in Sana'a, Yemen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aden unrest (2015–2019)</span> Conflict in southern Yemen between government, separatists and Islamists

The Aden unrest was a conflict between Islamist factions, such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's Yemen Branch, against the loyalists of president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and later to conflict between UAE-backed and Saudi-backed factions within the coalition. In 2017, fighting also broke out between factions aligned with different members of the Saudi-led coalition namely Saudi Arabia-backed Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and Al-Islah and UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council and Southern Movement.

The Hadramaut insurgency was an insurgency in Yemen launched by AQAP and ISIL-YP against forces loyal to president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abyan conflict</span> Clashes of the Yemeni Civil War

The Abyan conflict was a series of clashes between forces of AQAP loyal to Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, and forces loyal to Southern Movement for the control of Abyan between 2016 and 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Qaeda in Yemen</span> Previous al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen

Al-Qaeda in Yemen (AQY), also known as al-Qaeda in the Land of Yemen (AQLY) and al-Qaeda in the Southern Arabian Peninsula (AQSAP) in its later iteration, was a Sunni Islamist militant organization which existed between 1998 to 2003, and 2006 to 2009.

References

  1. ↑ Koehler-Derrick, Gabriel (2011-10-03). "A False Foundation? AQAP, Tribes and Ungoverned Spaces in Yemen" (PDF). Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-06-04. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  2. 1 2 "Qaeda says hit Koreans in Yemen over U.S. ties". Reuters. 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  3. ↑ "Four foreign tourists killed in blast". France 24 . 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  4. 1 2 "4 tourists killed, 3 injured in Yemen bombing". CNN. 2009-03-15. Archived from the original on 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  5. 1 2 3 "Yemen bombing kills 4 South Koreans, guide". NBC News. 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Fresh attack on Koreans in Yemen". BBC News. 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "예멘서 폭발로 한국인 4명 사망" [Four Koreans killed in explosion in Yemen]. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 2009-03-16. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  8. 1 2 "Four tourists die in Yemen blast". ABC News. 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  9. 1 2 Tae-hoon, Lee (2009-03-16). "Yemen Blames al-Qaida for Attack". The Korea Times . Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  10. ↑ McEvers, Kelly (2009-05-11). "Fears Of Al-Qaida Inroads In Yemen". NPR . Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Qaeda suicide bomber behind Yemen tourist attack". Reuters. 2009-03-16. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "South Korea sends team to Yemen after blast kills five". Taipei Times . 2009-03-17. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  13. 1 2 "Bomb in Yemen kills 4 South Koreans". The Daily Star . 2009-03-17. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  14. ↑ "Two Suicide Attacks in Yemen against South Korean Targets – Situation Report" (PDF). International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. 2009. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  15. ↑ Arrabyee, Nasser (2019-07-23). "Al Qaida blamed for Yemen bombing". Gulf News . Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  16. ↑ "Tourists die in Yemen explosion". BBC News. 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  17. ↑ "S. Korea asks for thorough probe on Yemen bomb blast". Kuwait News Agency. 2009-03-16. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  18. ↑ "S Korean officials attacked while investigating bombing". France 24 . 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
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