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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). BackgroundAQY 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.[1] Two days prior to the attack, Yemeni authorities had been receiving emails and telephone messages threatening imminent attacks unless jailed AQY members were released.[2] AttackThe 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.[3][1] The Wadi Dawan is a common route taken by tourists to reach Shibam.[4] 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.[3] The truck's hood was put up to give the impression that it was broken down.[5] 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.[6][5] 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.[7][8] After initial bursts of automatic fire, the gunmen then approached the vehicles and fired into them.[7] The attackers then reportedly fled the site in a vehicle after hiding behind trees.[9] VictimsThe 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.[2][3] Another Yemeni national believed to be a tour guide was reported later reported to be dead.[7][1] Four other tourists were injured, among them 65-year-old Patrick Coucke, who was seriously wounded after being shot in the stomach.[4][2] 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.[10] ResponsibilityA 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.[11][12] The caller claimed that the attack was a response to the "inhuman treatment" of al-Qaeda members in Political Security Organization prisons.[13][14] The Yemeni government said the caller was a “well known fraud”, questioning his affiliation with AQY.[11] 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.[12] 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.[12][15][16] 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."[12] The Yemeni government implicated several militants responsible for other Jund al-Yemen attacks with involvement in the Wadi Dawan attack.[17] InvestigationSecurity personnel set up roadblocks around the area of the attack while helicopters were sent out to locate the perpetrators.[10] The Yemeni government announced a 15 million riyal reward for information leading to the capture of the four gunmen involved in the attack.[18] 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.[19] The Belgian government confirmed on 21 January that 8 to 10 people were arrested in connection with the attack.[20][21] On 24 January, Yemeni authorities announced that they had arrested the four militants who took part in the attack and seized their pickup truck.[5] 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.[22] 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.[17] A court of appeal later sentenced four of the militants to death and gave 12 of them jail sentences between eight and 12 years.[23] AftermathReactionsYemeni 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 according to the state-sponsored Saba News Agency.[10] 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.[24] 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."[2] 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.[25] ImpactThe Wadi Dawan attack, in conjunction with the Marib bombing in 2007, lead to a significant negative effect on the tourist sector in Yemen.[26] See alsoReferences
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