2007 Marib Suicide Car Bombing

On 2 July 2007, at around 14:30 GMT, a suicide bomber drove a car laden with explosives into a convoy of 13 Spanish tourists finishing a visit at the Queen of Sheba temple in Marib Governorate, Yemen. The bomber, Abdu Mohammed Saad Ahmed Rehaqah, was recruited and trained to drive the car bomb by members of al-Qaeda in Yemen, which had published an online message a week prior to the bombing demanding that the Yemeni government release imprisoned militants.

Rehaqah drove the bomb into the two vehicles in the center of the convoy used by the tourists, killing seven of them as well as their two Yemeni drivers. Six Spaniard tourists, two drivers and four security guards were injured in the bombing. The attack was condemned by the governments of Yemen, Spain, and several other countries. Yemeni authorities released the identities of a 11-man cell accused of planning and organizing the bombing on 2 August. Eight of the 11 alleged organizers of the attack were declared fugitives, with six being killed between August 2007 and November 2008.

Background

Since a prison break in Sanaa in February 2006 freed a group of 23, AQY began launching periodic terrorist attacks across Yemen. It vowed to carry out more attacks after a double suicide car bombing on two oil facilities in September 2006 failed. In March 2007, three AQY members were involved in the assassination of chief criminal investigator in Marib, Ali Mahmud Qasaylah. The three would later be charged suspected of involvement in the July bombing.

Yemeni authorities received information four days prior to the bombing warning of a potential AQY attack, but they did not know what would be the target. Additional security measures were taken at local oil facilities, government institutions and foreign embassies, but not at tourist sites. A week prior to the attack, AQY posted a message announcing the appointment of Nasir al-Wuhayshi as its leader. The message vowed revenge for the killing of the groups leaders and listed several demands; the release of its imprisoned members, permission to fight in Iraq, the halting of cooperation with the international community and that government leaders "return to the righteous path."

Yemen had been a fairly popular tourist destination for Spaniards for several years prior to the bombing. The 3,000 year-old Queen of Sheba temple is among multiple archaeological attractions that made Marib Governorate a popular destitution for tourists. The United States embassy in Sanaa had advised US citizens to avoid the region after a soldier with "emotional problems", according to the Yemeni government, opened fire on Occidental Petroleum workers in Shabwah Governorate, killing an Indian engineer and wounding six others, including an American.

Attack

Planning

Planning and organizing of the attack was undertaken by an 10-man cell headed by Wuhayshi along with Hamza al-Quaiti, Qasim al-Raymi. Eight of the individuals were Yemenis, while two of them, Nayif Mohammed al-Qahtani and Ahmed Bassiouni Dewidar, were Saudi and Egyptian respectively. Seven of the cell members contributed to planning and supervising the attack, while two others provided protection and shelter for the group while in Marib. The attack targeted Spaniards specifically as Raymi "knew exactly what the tourists’ movements would be" according to a former AQY member.

The suicide bomber, Abdu Mohammed Saad Ahmed Rehaqah, was a 21-year old Yemeni citizen from Mazhar district, Rimah Governorate. Rehaqah lived in the Musayk neighborhood of Sanaa, an area known for being a haven for jihadists and al-Qaeda members. While in Musayk, he was recruited by AQY members Hamza Saleh al-Dayan and Ammar al-Waeli, both of whom were acting under the command of Quaiti. Dayan, who was a taxi driver, provided the bomber with driving lessons and introduced him to other members of the cell in Marib. Qahtani, along with Naji Ali Jaradan and Ali bin Ali Douha, both natives from the local Abida tribe, assisted in sheltering Rehaqah in a house in Uzlah while they prepared for the bombing.

Bombing

At around mid-morning on 2 July, a four-vehicle convoy consisting of 13 Spanish tourists in two cars accompanied by Yemeni security vehicles at the front and end was making its way from Sanaa to Marib to view the Queen of Sheba temple. Rehaqah was waiting by the temple at the nearby N5 highway in a parked Toyota Land Cruiser filled with oxygen tanks and TNT among other explosives.

At about 14:30 GMT, as the convoy was on the road preparing to leave after the tourists finished their visit, Rehaqah drove the car bomb through gate of the temple compound and rammed it into the two central vehicles used by the tourists. The car exploded about 50 metres away from the temple itself, scattering vehicle and body parts around the road. Tribal sources describe the blast as being heard from as far as 20 kilometres away from the temple. Describing the scene, wounded survivor María Begoña Larrabeiti said "I saw that the first car was burning, in the second one the people looked pretty bad, and in mine everyone was shouting" and "I couldn't see what was happening in the fourth as I ducked because they were shooting."

Victims

The bombing killed seven Spanish tourists and two Yemeni drivers and tourist guides. Six tourists, two Yemeni drivers and four security guards were additionally injured. The dead Spaniards were identified as married couples Antonio Pomés Tallo and María Teresa Pérez Ubago, Magie Álvarez Calleja and Miguel Essery Arruti, María Isabel Arranz Bocos and Gabriel Tortosa Ortega, and Marta Borrell Puig. Those injured by the attack were Esteve Masó Vilanova, Eva María de Mena, María Estíbaliz Díez del Río, María Begoña Larrabeiti Meabe, Julia Vilaró Rodríguez and María Asunción Vitorica Arbaiza.

Five wounded tourists along with the remains of the seven killed were transported through a Spanish Air Force Airbus on 4 July. Abroad the flight were also seven doctors and nurses, two members of the , and a dozen members of a Spanish delegation with representatives from the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Health, Interior, and Industry and Tourism headed by Minister of Industry Joan Clos. The Airbus arrived at Torrejón Air Base in the Community of Madrid at 07:15, where they were greeted by Foreign Affairs minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and Catalonian vice-president Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira. Three of the five injured tourists left the aircraft on foot, while the other two were carried by stretcher. Three of the wounded were admitted to Gómez Ulla Military Hospital, two of them in a serious prognosis although "no vital organs were affected," according to the Foreign Ministry. The bodies of the dead were taken for identification at the before being given back to their respective families.

Vitorica was in critical condition after suffering severe head injuries in the bombing, forcing her to remain in Yemen while the other wounded returned home. She underwent surgery twice at al-Thawra hospital in Sanaa before July 7, when her doctors decided that she could not go through any more interventions. She succumbed to her injuries on 14 July raising the total death toll of the attack to 10. Her body was repatriated to Spain on 15 July, with her funeral being held the next day.

Investigation

The Yemeni government announced a $75,500 reward for information which could lead to the capture of the perpetrators. Interior Minister Rashad al-Alimi said that the Yemeni government would welcome the participation of Spanish investigators. On 3 July, Spanish high court judge Fernando Andreu said that Spanish legal authorities were launching a preliminary investigation into the attack. Spanish investigators arrived in the country by 4 July as Alimi briefed the Spanish ambassador about the initial findings. He stated "preliminary information indicates that the al-Qaeda organisation is behind the cowardly attack."

On 4 July, Yemeni forces killed Ahmed Bassiouni Dewidar in a gun battle in Sanaa which wounded five security officers. Security forces found weapons, explosives, and forged documents used by al-Qaeda members to travel to Iraq and other Arab countries in his apartment. Dewidar was initially labeled the mastermind of the attack, though his role would later be reevaluated by investigators as providing logistical support to other members of the cell. Dewidar was reported to have links to al-Qaeda in Yemen, Egypt, Syria and Iraq, and was prosecuted by Egyptian authorities in 1999 during the Albanian Returnees trial. Egypt requested that Yemeni authorities provide DNA samples of Dewidar to confirm his identity.

By 6 July, Yemeni authorities backed by Spanish investigators had arrested 20 Islamic fundamentalists, including three alleged AQY members, who may have provided assistance in the attack. Authorities were searching for three suspects accused of firing at the tourists from a second car, potentially suggesting that the bomb was detonated by remote control as opposed to a suicide bombing. A senior Yemeni official stated that the FBI had dispatched a unit from the US embassy to probe the bombing and deduce whether it was a suicide bombing or not. The official said it seemed "very important to them". A Spanish police spokesperson confirmed that the FBI was involved in the investigation due to its links to al-Qaeda.

On 2 August, the state-ran Saba News Agency reported that Yemeni authorities had identified the bomber through DNA testing of human remains at the site, and had confirmed it after cross referencing DNA tests with the bombers family. The 11-man cell responsible for perpetrating the bombing was also publicly identified. None of the militants responsible had been arrested by then.

On 8 August, Yemeni security forces launched a string raid in the Raghwan area near the city of Marib. Special forces soldiers, along with military helicopters, were tracking a two-vehicle convoy containing militants connected to the bombing. Three of the dead militants; Ali bin Ali Douha, Naji Ali Jaradan and Abd al-Aziz Said Jaradan, were implicated in planning the bombing. Officials initially claimed that Qasim al-Raymi was among those killed, but it was later found that he was mistaken for another militant after a medical examination of the bodies. On 13 August, Yemeni authorities arrested nine people in connection to the bombing, including three Yemenis who had recently returned from Iraq. The individuals were captured in Abyan Governorate during a helicopter raid at dawn.

Eight of the 11 organizers of the attack were declared fugitives, with six being killed between August 2007 and November 2008 while they were preparing more attacks. In September 2010, Yemeni authorities announced that Ammar al-Waeli would be tried in absentia for their role in the bombing along with Hamza Saleh al-Dayan, who turned himself in on 6 June 2010. On 3 March 2011, Waeli was sentenced to 15 years in prison for "being a member of an armed group that aimed to attack foreign tourists." He was killed by a US drone strike on 3 June 2011.

2015 ''El País–''Al Jazeera investigation

As a part of an investigative series jointly produced by ''El País'' ''and'' Al Jazeera in June 2015, Hani Muhammad Mujahid, a former AQY informant for the Yemeni government, provided an account for the bombing. Mujahid said that he informed the National Security Bureau of the attack a week before it took place, but had later arrived at the scene on the day of the bombing and found the preparations ready. He stated that he had snuck away from the scene to inform two security officials of the imminent threat, but the bombing had gone through unhindered a few hours later. He also questioned AQY's ability to know the location of the tourists, claiming that "no person from Al-Qaeda could have acquired this type of information."

Esteve Masó, an injured victim in the bombing, requested that Spain's high court reopens its investigation into the attack based on the information given by Mujahid, calling it an "authentic bombshell that needs to be investigated.” The Spanish High Court investigation into the bombing was shelved by 2011 due to Yemeni officials refusing to cooperate. On 8 June 2015, chief prosecutor requested that Spanish police investigate the information given by Mujahid. The revelations were discussed at an Interpol summit in Barcelona, where an attendee stated that “Interpol can do little if what Hani Muhammad says is true since we only share information between state police". Since the suspects were not transnational criminals, responsibility for investigating the information was upon the internal affairs departments of Yemen's security organizations.

Reactions

The Yemeni government increased security around government buildings and foreign interests in the immediate aftermath of bombing. President Ali Abdullah Saleh said "this incident is a blow to the national economy and will affect tourism but should not affect investment," and vowed to "track down the elements involved in this criminal and irresponsible act."

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos condemned the bombing and gave condolences to the victims of the attack and their families. King Juan Carlos I expressed his "indignation, condemnation, and revulsion" of the bombing and extended condolences to the victims. Spokespeople for the People's Party, Convergence and Union, Republican Left of Catalonia, Basque Nationalist Party, Canarian Coalition, Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and United Left parties condemned the attack. The offered its services to the victims of the attack.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that "no cause can justify such acts of indiscriminate violence against civilians." Amnesty International called for the perpetrators of the attack to be held responsible "in accordance with international standards." Statements condemning the attack were issued by the United States, France, Austria, Chile, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Thousands of Yemenis participated in a march on 6 July in Sanaa condemning the bombing and expressing solidarity with the victims. Several government officials were in attendance, including Tourism Minister Nabil al-Faqih, senior judge Hamoud al-Hitar and representatives from all governorates of Yemen and the ruling General People's Congress party.

See also

*2008 Wadi Dawan ambush
* 2009 Yemeni tourist attacks

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yemen tourist attack
2007 murders in Yemen
Attacks on tourists in Asia
July 2007 in Asia
Marib Governorate
Mass murder in 2007
Terrorist incidents in Yemen in 2007
Terrorist incidents attributed to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Spain–Yemen relations
Suicide car and truck bombings in Yemen
21st-century mass murder in Yemen
Spanish people murdered abroad
Suicide bombings in 2007
Car and truck bombings in 2007