Explosion Rocks British Embassy in Yemen

An explosion rattled the British embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa overnight, but no one was hurt, the British consul general told AFP on Friday.

"We are not sure what caused it," said consul Bob Hunter, a day after a suspected suicide attack on a US destroyer killed six US sailors, left 11 missing and 35 wounding in the port of Aden.

"It happpened right next to the generator at the embassy in Sanaa on Thursday night," he said.

He said the embassy was not sure if it was a bomb and stressed it could have been a problem with the generator. Investigations were underway.

"No one was hurt because it happened at night," said Hunter who is based in Aden.

"The embassy was thinking of asking for extra security" after a series a major demonstrations in the capital in the last week in support of the Palestinians in their conflict with Israel.

"We will definitely do it now," he added.

Britain had not pulled out staff from Sanaa or Aden in response to the demonstrations.

Thousands of Yemenis protested Sunday against the wave of Israeli killings in the Palestinian territories, pelting the US embassy with garbage and burning Israel's flag.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has called for arms and combattants to be sent to help the Palestinians.

The US embassy, like several other American embassies in the Middle East had been temporarily closed in fear of violence.



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