Yemen 'foils UK embassy bomb plot'

An al-Qa'ida plot to blow up the British Embassy in Yemen was foiled just weeks before the bombings in Istanbul, it was reported today.

Twenty militants confessed to planning to crash a truck containing explosives through the embassy gates in Sanaa, the BBC said.

Security officials said the would-be bombers were receiving instructions from al-Qa'ida operatives in Iran, according to the report.

The planned attack on the embassy, which is on a busy street, would have been devastating if the plotters had not been captured three months ago, the BBC said.

The militants drove around the building, videoing every angle, looking for weak points.

"We are very conscious that we are a high priority target here in Yemen," British Ambassador Frances Guy told the BBC.

"We try our best on a daily basis to review our security and improve it as much as we can."

Concrete blocks have been placed outside the embassy to stop truck bombs. The ambassador also travels with armed bodyguards.

The plot was thwarted by Yemeni intelligence officers before the would-be bombers could get hold of explosives, the report said.

The British Consulate in Istanbul was destroyed in a bomb attack last month.

Twelve people died in the blast, including consul general Roger Short.

The nearby headquarters of the HSBC bank was also targeted, and the total number of deaths in both attacks was more than 60.