The Islamic Jihad of Yemen (Arabic: الجهاد الإسلامي في اليمن) was an al-Qaeda Islamist militant affiliate that claimed responsibility for the 2008 attack on the United States embassy in Yemen.[1] The group also threatened future attacks against other embassies, including those of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.[2]
The group released a statement saying, "We will carry out the rest of the series of attacks on the other embassies that were declared previously, until our demands are met by the Yemeni government."[3] Meanwhile, on September 18, 2008, Yemeni authorities arrested 25 suspects allegedly connected to al-Qaeda.[4] Foreign Minister Abou Bakr al-Qurbi said: "The attack on the U.S. Embassy was retaliation by al-Qaeda for the measures taken by the government to fight the terrorists." United States Department of State spokesman Sean McCormack said that "the multi-phased attack bore all the hallmarks of al-Qaeda." The government received an average of $40 million yearly in U.S. economic and military aid since 2000.[5]