2008 Wadi Dawan Ambush

On 18 January 2008, a convoy of Belgian tourists was ambushed while travelling through the Wadi Dawan in Hadhramaut Governorate, Yemen. The convoy was attacked by four gunmen waiting in a pickup truck, killing two tourists and two Yemeni drivers, along with injuring four others. The attack was claimed by the Jund al-Yemen Brigades, an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Yemen (AQY).

Background

AQY had previously targeted foreign tourists in 2007 when a car bomber drove into a Spanish convoy in Marib. AQY had written a message in their e-magazine a week prior to the attack vowing to free their jailed members and exact revenge for the killing of their militants. Two days prior to the attack, Yemeni authorities had been receiving emails and telephone messages threatening imminent attacks unless jailed AQY members were released.

Attack

The attack targeted a four-vehicle convoy of 15 Belgian tourists and Yemeni drivers heading to the city of Shibam, a popular tourist destination in Yemen. The Wadi Dawan is a common route taken by tourists to reach Shibam. The four militants were waiting in a Toyota pickup truck parked by the side of a speed bump along a rural road the Wadi Dawan near the city of al-Hajarayn. The truck's hood was put up to give the impression that it was broken down. At around 12:15 p.m. AST (UTC+3), coinciding with the time of Friday prayers, the masked militants opened fire on the convoy as it slowed down by the speed bump. According to a witnesses account, the militants fired at the three front jeeps, while the fourth one wasn't hit as it was farther back taking photographs. After initial bursts of automatic fire, the gunmen then approached the vehicles and fired into them. The attackers then reportedly fled the site in a vehicle after hiding behind trees.

Victims

The attackers killed two Belgian women, identified as 65-year-old Claudine Van Caillie and 54-year-old Katrine Glorie, and their Yemeni driver Ahmed al-Amiri. Another Yemeni national believed to be a tour guide was reported later reported to be dead. Four other tourists were injured, among them 65-year-old Patrick Coucke, who was seriously wounded after being shot in the stomach.

Twelve of the tourists returned to Belgium on 19 January, while Coucke was transferred to Sanaa amid arrangements for his repatriation in coordination with the Belgian government.

Responsibility

A man claiming to be AQY's information officer claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call with weekly newspaper ''al-Wasat'' on 23 January. The caller claimed that the attack was a response to the "inhuman treatment" of al-Qaeda members in Political Security Organization prisons. The Yemeni government said the caller was a “well known fraud”, questioning his affiliation with AQY. AQY's official information officer Sayf Muhammad later issued a statement denying that the interview with ''al-Wasat'' was legitimate or that the caller had a relationship with the group.

Later in February, a previously unknown group called the Jund al-Yemen Brigades announced its presence in an internet statement which claimed several previous AQY attacks, including the Wadi Dawan attack. According to Gregory D. Johnson of CTC Westpoint, AQY's e-magazine neglecting to deny the statement of Jund al-Yemen Brigades in its second March issue insinuate that the groups are "either united under al-Wuhayshi's (the leader of AQY) leadership or at least working in concert." The Yemeni government implicated several militants responsible for other Jund al-Yemen attacks with involvement in the Wadi Dawan attack.

Investigation

Security personnel set up roadblocks around the area of the attack while helicopters were sent out to locate the perpetrators. The Yemeni government announced a 15 million riyal reward for information leading to the capture of the four gunmen involved in the attack. On 20 January, two Yemeni soldiers died and five were injured in a traffic accident while they were carrying out a manhunt against the wanted militants. The Belgian government confirmed on 21 January that 8 to 10 people were arrested in connection with the attack. On 24 January, Yemeni authorities announced that they had arrested the four militants who took part in the attack and seized their pickup truck.

On 13 July 2009, 16 militants from the Jund al-Yemen Brigades were convicted for participating in several attacks for the group, including the Wadi Dawan attack. Of the group, which comprised 11 Yemenis, four Syrians and a Saudi, six were sentenced to death while the other 10 were given prison sentences from ranging from eight to 15 years. A court of appeal later sentenced four of the militants to death and gave 12 of them jail sentences between eight and 12 years.

Aftermath

Reactions

Yemeni foreign minister Abu Bakr al-Qurbi “renewed Yemen’s commitment in cooperation with the international community to combat terrorism that threatens security and stability in the world,” in a phone call with Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht.

Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt denounced the attacks as "dramatic and unacceptable" in a statement, issuing condolences to the victims and urging the Yemeni government to track down the perpetrators. De Gucht said that the tourists should have known the risks involved in travelling to Yemen. He also stated that "we have no indication that al-Qaeda or any other extremist group was involved,” adding that the area also had “tribal problems." The European Union issued a statement condemning the attack while acknowledging that it was second time in six months that European tourists were killed in Yemen.

Impact

The Wadi Dawan attack, in conjunction with the Marib bombing in 2007, lead to a significant negative effect on the tourist sector in Yemen.

See also

* 2007 Marib suicide car bombing
* 2009 Yemeni tourist attacks

References

{{Terrorism in Yemen

2008 in Yemen
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Terrorism in Yemen