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Terrorist outfit owns up attack on tanker

By Vaiju Naravane

Frankfurt Oct. 11. A Yemeni terrorist group called the Islamic Army of Aden-Abyane that figures on America's list of terrorist organisations has claimed responsibility for the attack against the French super tanker the Limburg off the coast of Yemen last Sunday.

"The French tanker was going to supply the American 5th Fleet for an attack against our Iraqi brothers'', the group said in a communique published in Washington. It added that the real target of the attack was an American frigate located close to the French tanker.

This appears to discredit Yemeni claims that the fire on board the Limburg following an explosion last Sunday as caused by an explosion in the ship's engine room.

French and American terrorism experts sent to investigate the explosion in the hull of the super tanker Limburg off the cost of Yemen are equally categorical: the explosion was caused by a terrorist attack.

Experts who were able to board the ship on Thursday told reporters that they had "found debris of a small vessel that rammed into the side of the tanker''. The theory of an attack was further strengthened by the fact that the hole in the hull shows tears going inwards, indicating that the explosion was not produced on board as initially reported by Yemeni authorities but caused by an external projectile hitting the ship with great force. A prudent communiqué issued by the French foreign office late Thursday confirmed these facts: "The preliminary investigation leads us to believe that the explosion was caused by an attack''. This is the second attack since September 11 that specifically targets French interests. The first was a car bomb that killed 11 French naval engineers in Karachi on May 8.

On Friday France remained cautious, evading questions about a possible French riposte. "Our action in this matter is guided by our concern for a full explanation as to the causes of the explosion of the tanker Limburg. Consequently we must be serious and responsible. The experts we've sent to Yemen are working with that in mind. And in that same spirit we here are waiting for the results of their work,'' the French foreign office spokesman told journalists.

Since the ship was crippled over 50,000 barrels of Saudi crude have escaped into the gulf of Aden to reach the Yemeni coast. The pentagon announced that traces of TNT and other explosives were found on board the ship. The shipping daily Lloyd's List said that pictures show the eight metre wide hole in the ship's side was clearly caused from the outside.

The exact circumstances of the attack remain unclear. Yemeni police have arrested some 20 persons as "a preventive measure''. A sailor on board the ship said he had seen a boat racing towards the ship at very high speed and at an odd angle. Thirty seconds later the ship blew up.

France and other western nations have large military installations in Djibouti, not far from Yemen.

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