Yemeni jailed for US embassy attack

A Yemeni man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for attacking the United States embassy in the capital, Sanaa, with grenades in March.

The man, a 26-year-old grocer named Sameer Yahia Awadh, had pleaded not guilty.

His lawyer, Fadl al-Riashi, says he is appealing against the verdict, which he argued was unjust because of his client's psychological problems.

No-one was injured in the attack, in which two grenades were thrown against the wall of the embassy, a day after a visit by US Vice-President Dick Cheney.

Security fears

The court in Sanaa convicted Awadh of endangering public security, tarnishing Yemen's image and illegal possession of weapons.

The USS Cole was on a routine refuelling stop when it was attacked

Prosecutor said he had admitted to planning the operation two months earlier and had said he acted alone in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Security in Yemen has been a major American concern since 17 US sailors died in an attack on the destroyer USS Cole in Aden harbour in 2000.

US military advisers were sent to Yemen after the 11 September attacks to help combat the alleged presence of al-Qaeda members in remote areas of the country.

Last month Yemeni police used tear gas to stop thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors reaching the US embassy in Sanaa.