SANAA, Nov 29-A powerful explosion shook government buildings early Friday, without causing casualties, in eastern Yemen where a CIA missile killed six suspected al Qaeda members in early November.
The blast occurred soon after midnight when an explosive charge planted near the house of the main security official in the province of Marib, Brig. Ali Nasser al Kawsi, went off.
Explosive material was placed on the ground near the wall of the residence of the governor of Mareb Abdullah Al-Nasi and the headquarters of the governorate's security office, which are part of a sensitive governmental complex.
The weekly al Sahwa, mouthpiece of the main Islamic opposition Yemeni Reform Party, said "a powerful explosion rocked the city and smoke was seen billowing over the well-guarded government compound which harbors the offices and houses of the main security officials in the province."
The incident is believed to be a response to the killing of the presumed leader of Osama bin Laden's al Qaida network in Yemen. Kaed Sinan al Harithy and five other suspected members of the group were traveling in Marib Nov. 3 when a missile fired by an American Predator unmanned airplane destroyed the vehicle and killed its occupants.
A missile fired by a CIA unmanned plane killed the six men as they travelled in a car outside Marib. Yemeni opposition groups condemned the strike as a violation of the Arab state's sovereignty, but the government said it was part of its anti-terror cooperation with the United States.
The Yemeni government acknowledged it had approved the operation, saying it lacked the resources itself to bring the men to justice for crimes that would carry the death penalty in Yemen.
The admission sparked controversy throughout the country, and lawyers in Sanaa have threatened to sue the government for breach of Yemen's constitution.
Threats of revenge for al Harithy's slaying were also voiced in a letter signed by a man called Abu Shehab al Kandahari al Yamani and published in the Yemeni media.
The letter vowed that Yemeni tribes would retaliate against the United States: "Yemen's youth will make the Americans pay a dear price for daring to violate the sanctity of our home (Yemen)," it said.
Meanwhile, tribal sources in Marib revealed the blast could indeed be a message from al-Qaeda elements to the Governor of Marib, and hence to the Yemeni government.
"This blast is more than just an explosion. It must be a message from al-Qaeda saying 'we are here, and we can strike'. This is serious," a tribal sheikh told Yemen Times on the condition of anonymity.
Eyewitnesses said that they saw fire flames rise up to 10 meters in the sky after the explosion happened. It is believed that a pack full of TNT was the source of the explosion, which resulted in little physical damage to the nearby buildings. A three meter wide and 1.5 meter deep hole was caused by the blast, which also caused outrage among residents of the city.
The governor minimized the effects of the blast and said investigations are underway to arrest those who committed this action. "The explosion caused no casualties and a few windows were shattered. However, the terrorists who committed this action caused panic in the city and made people leave mosques after the blast," he said.
"They will certainly be held accountable and brought to justice," he also pledged.
"It is clear that if those who did this action wanted to destroy the building, they could have easily put the same package in a more sensitive location." a residents said.
It is yet to be confirmed whether those who planted the bomb are linked to al-Qaeda, however tribal figures in the governorate say that the blast is probably a message from al-Qaeda network or from Al-Harith tribe to the governor in retaliation for the governor's cooperation with the US authorities to assassinate their member Al-Harithi along with five other al-Qaeda suspects on November 3.
The Al-Harithi tribe, to which Abi Qaid Salim Sunayyan Al-Harithi (also known as Abu Ali) belongs, has accused high-ranking officials in the governorate along with a one of the prominent sheikhs of Obeidah tribe, which has close links to Islamic extremists, of betraying Al-Harithi and setting a trap for him to have him hunted easily by the Americans.
"We believe what happened to Al-Harithi is a betrayal in the tribal norms as he was deceived after being hosted in Marib the same day in a wicked action plan set up in advance to assassinate him" a source of Al-Harith tribe said.
This explosion is the strongest of its kind to occur in the governorate of Marib following Al-Hariti's assassination a month ago with a missile fired from a CIA unmanned plane.
Security forces in Marib have increased their surveillance and security measures around the governorate as a precaution to possible retaliation by tribes or extremist groups in the area.
The Marib governorate and security forces belonging to the Ministry of Interior held extensive meetings on Friday to study means and set up plans to chase and arrest those involved in the latest operation, which they suspect could involve dangerous figures belonging to al-Qaeda.
A number of incidents and explosions took place in various cities and governorates of Yemen following the September 11 attacks in 2001 (See illustration on page 1).
It is feared that such attacks may continue if the US launches new attacks against militants in Yemen with the cooperation of the Yemeni government.
Parts of Yemen remain beyond control of the central government, especially the vast eastern third of the country known as the Hadramaut. U.S. sources say Yemeni leaders are secretly negotiating over allowing an American operation within their borders. A further complication, officials say, is the constant movement of potential terrorist targets in Yemen.
Marib as well as neighboring Shabwa and al Jouf provinces, are the scene of a thorough search by Yemeni security forces for suspected al Qaeda members who are believed to be hiding in the rugged mountainous regions
A little-known group called Al Qaeda Sympathisers has claimed several earlier anti-government bombings and demanded the release of dozens of suspected backers of Osama bin Laden's network.

While under interrogation recently, several Yemeni linked to al-Qaeda continue to shed light on terrorist attacks, while others are being pulled in different directions by officials from Yemen and the United States who both want more information.
On Thursday, Yemen asked the US to hand over Abd-al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a suspected al Qaeda leader wanted in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole off the coast of the Arab state, an official newspaper said Thursday.
A Yemeni extradition request said al Rahim is also wanted for questioning about other "terrorist" operations in Yemen, according to the September 26 weekly newspaper.
Washington said last week it was holding Nashiri, identified as the Gulf chief of al Qaeda, the militant Islamic network headed by Saudi-born Osama bin Laden.
Nashiri is suspected of having planned the USS Cole attack.
Meanwhile, Yemen security sources have told the Yemen Times that officials have gained useful information that may lead to arrest Mohammed al-Ahdal, also known as Abu Asem.
It's believed Al-Hadal is the prime suspect in financing the USS Cole bombing which killed 17 US sailors were killed.
More recently, it's also believed he was involved in exploding the French oil supertanker Limburg, Oct. 6, near Hadhramout.
Also this week,Yemeni investigators went to Kuwait to question Mohsen al-Fadhli, identified as a senior al Qaeda operative, who is in Kuwaiti custody.
Kuwaiti officials have said that Fadhli was a key member of al Qaeda cell planning to bomb a hotel in Saan'a with American guests.
His interrogation has also provided information about the attack on the Limburg.
Sources indicated that some Kuwaiti al-Qaeda elements have transferred as much as US $50,000 to carry out the Limburg bombing.
And for the first time, this week sources in Sana'a confirmed that Egyptian authorities handed over the Yemeni businessman Abdusalam Al Hila, a leading member in the ruling party, to the US authorities.
Saudi Okadh newspaper said Wednesday that Al Hila was transferred from Cairo during September to a US prison in Turkey where he stayed for a few days, before he was moved to Washington.
The US intelligence has included his name among wanted persons, on the grounds that he has information about Arab Afghans which interest the US.
This has been confirmed by Al Hila younger brother, Abdul Wahab.
"I have a confirmed information that my brother is in Washington and communications between Yemen and the US are taking place to release him," said the brother.
There was concern previously that Al Hila was 'kidnapped' while asked to come to Egypt for a business trip.
The Quds newspaper said that Egyptian officials informed Yemeni authorities recently that Egypt expelled Al Hila to the US on the request of the FBI office in Cairo for investigating him on Al Qaeda links.
"The Egyptian intelligence brought him around gradually through its embassy in Sana'a last month," Yemeni sources said.
The Yemeni government discussed the disappearance of Al Hila, 34, last month and charged the foreign and interior ministers to follow up the case with the Egyptian officials.
About 173 detainees are still held by the Yemeni authorities suspected of having links to al-Qaeda. Fourteen of them were released last month.
Yemen officials have also said that the November 3 missile strike by an unmanned CIA plane that killed six suspected al Qaeda members was part of its security cooperation with the United States.

Arab governments would curtail their cooperation with the American "war on terrorism" if the United States attacks Iraq, a senior Yemeni official said this week.
"I can't imagine that war in Iraq will allow any country to go about the war against terrorism as business as usual," said Abdul-Karim Al Iryani, a former Yemeni prime minister and senior adviser to President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
"It will negatively affect the cooperation of almost every Arab country, at least during the war. After the war, maybe people will come back," Iryani told reporters.
He also told the CNN network that he doubted that the US would install a stable government in Baghdad.
"Iraq will go into a civil war swamp and there will not be anyone who could rule Iraq if the Saddam Hussein regime was overthrown," he said.
He said only with democracy, free education, and economic development, one could eradicate extremism in the Islamic word.
The Yemeni government has been one of the most cooperative in the Arab world in the U.S. campaign to track down members of the Al Qaida group, blamed for the September 2001 suicide attacks in New York and Washington.
On November 3 it allowed the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to kill six Al Qaida suspects with an unmanned Predator plane, which fired a missile at their car in the Yemeni desert.
Iryani, a key figure in coordination between Yemen and the United States, said his government drew a clear line however between the "war on terror" and war with Iraq.
He said that war on Iraq would create instability throughout the Arab world and that he doubted the United States would find it easy to install a stable government.
"Who in the world will have the genius ability to rule Iraq when the regime is removed by force? I can't imagine how it will be. I fear there will be many civil wars," he said.
Iryani said the answers to extremism in the Muslim world were democracy, liberal education and economic development.
He added: "I'm not going to say the reason for what happened in New York (on September 11) is the Arab-Israeli conflict. But one of the strongest cards in the hands of the extremists today is the Arab-Israeli conflict."

U.S. warns of Yemen terror

WASHINGTON (Reuters/Agencies) - The United States warned its citizens on Saturday they could be target of "terrorist" actions in Yemen along with east Africa after two recent attacks on Israelis in Kenya that killed 16 people.
The State Department said it had received information, the credibility of which had not yet been confirmed, that similar attacks might also occur in the nation of Djibouti, which borders Somalia and Ethiopia.
"The Department of State believes that Djibouti is one of a number of countries in east Africa where there may be an increased terrorist threat," it said in a public announcement.
A State Department advisory for Yemen released Saturday boosted already strong warnings against travel to Yemen. The statement said U.S. citizens in Yemen should increase safety precautions in the light of what it called credible reports that terrorists associated with the al-Qaida network have planned attacks against U.S. interests in Yemen.
The Pentagon is establishing a command center in Djibouti as it increases the number of U.S. troops in the Horn of Africa from 800 to 1,200 to hunt down militant groups. Many are Marines or elite Special Operations troops and are stationed in Djibouti or on ships in the Red Sea.
The State Department announcements came after a suicide bombing at an Israeli-owned hotel left 16 people dead Thursday in Mombasa, Kenya. Minutes earlier, missiles were fired at a plane carrying Israeli tourists shortly after takeoff.