Sanaa: Trade center owner made explosion, killed in it
Yemen, Politics, 9/9/1999

Sources from the Yemeni Ministry of the Interior said that investigations carried out concerning the explosion in Sanaa 11 days ago reached the conclusion that the incident resulted from using gasoline rather than explosives.

In a statement a well-informed source at the Yemeni Ministry of the Interior circulated on Tuesday said the explosion which took place in a trade center was planned for and carried out by the owner of the building, Abdullah Muhammad al-Omeiri, and many of his workers.

The source indicated that the reason behind al-Omeiri's act was that he was facing financial problems and all he did this to get compensation from the insurance company.

The source said Yemeni security reached these conclusions from confessions made by those who prepared for this operation and took part in its implementation.

News reports said the sum allotted as insurance for the trade center was estimated at 440 million Yemeni riyals (US $ 2.5 million).

Earlier news reports said that family rows were behind the explosion of the center, which is considered one of the largest trade centers in the Yemeni capital.

The trade center explosion in Sanaa resulted in killing the owner of the center and Khaled Hussein Masaad, who was in the courtyard of a nearby building. 12 others were wounded, three of whom are still under medical treatment.

The source at the Yemeni Ministry of the Interior warned of the fact that the incident was campaigned by "hostile elements in Yemen," which try to "distort the facts," in reference to Islamist activist Abu Hamzeh al-Masri who stressed from his residence in London that the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army was behind the explosion in the trade center, as well as the military plane crash in Hadramout on August 14 and the explosion in Bab al-Yemen on August 4.

Previous Stories:
  Three killed in an armed clash in Sanaa   (9/4/1999)
  Aden army carried out Yemen explosions   (8/30/1999)
  On the Yemeni explosion   (8/28/1999)
  Explosion shakes Sanaa   (8/28/1999)

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