An investigation team from the United States has reportedly found that an attack that wounded President Ali Abdullah Saleh and several senior members of his government while performing the Friday prayers in his Sana’a presidential compound earlier in June was carried out by an advanced US-made missile designed for special assassination operations, sources close to the probe told Al Arabiya.
“The missile is very advanced and still not widely used. Only the United States and Russia currently employ this weapon,” a source said.
US investigators informed the Yemeni authorities about the finding, which they said refutes earlier claims attributed to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that the source of the explosion was inside President Saleh’s compound.
Initially, government officials blamed artillery rounds or mortar fire by Sheikh Al Ahmar’s forces—the two sides had been engaged in pitched fighting for two weeks when the blast took place—but a spokesman for Mr. Ahmar denied involvement.
Scott Stewart, a vice president of Stratfor, an Austin, Texas, risk assessment company published a video explaining that an examination of photos of the scene made it likely that the blast had originated inside the mosque.
The source added that the missile was equipped with rotary head designed to penetrate the concrete walls of the compound and explode inside.
The investigation team belongs to US private investigation firm hired by Yemeni authorities to probe the attack on President Saleh. The source said the firm did not have any apparent links with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
(Abdulaziz Alhayagim is Al Arabiya
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