Suspected militants likely belonging to the Yemeni al Qaeda node, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), attacked a British vehicle en route to the British Embassy in Yemen's capital city of Sanaa at 8:15 a.m. local time on Oct. 6. The five British diplomats in the car included Deputy Chief of Mission Fionna Gibb, who was uninjured in the attack. Another embassy official suffered minor injuries. A Yemeni Interior Ministry official said a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) hit the back of the car carrying Gibb and four other embassy personnel. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. According to STRATFOR sources in Yemen and the local media, two militants dressed in the omnipresent and distinctive orange jumpsuits of street cleaners in the capital city stationed themselves next to Berlin Street, a route preferred by U.S. and U.K. embassy employees, and pretended to clean the street. One of the militants was reportedly carrying a bag near the popular Berlin Gardens restaurant, at almost the exact spot where outgoing British ambassador Tim Torlot's armored limousine was struck by a suicide bomber in April. When the car carrying the British diplomats passed on Oct. 6, one of the assailants fired the RPG at the back of the vehicle. It is unknown whether the diplomat sustained minor injuries from the exploding RPG or when the vehicle subsequently crashed, striking and injuring three civilians. Immediately after firing the RPG, the shooter dropped the launcher and the assailants fled in a waiting vehicle. Security officials have set up additional checkpoints throughout Sanaa in their search for the attackers. The British embassy has closed, at least temporarily, citing security precautions. The attack is the third strike against a foreign convoy of high-ranking diplomats in Sanaa in the last two years. The first attack occurred when an AQAP suicide bomber targeted a South Korean convoy in March 2009. The second attack, against the outgoing British ambassador in April 2010, used the same assault tactics employed against the South Korean convoy the year before. The consistency with which certain routes are traveled and the light protection of these convoys make them fairly soft targets. AQAP also has attacked military convoys carrying Yemeni soldiers and high-value targets. While an assault like the one Oct. 6 is clearly not a new phenomenon in Sanaa, it is noteworthy that the attackers chose to strike at virtually the exact spot where the outgoing British ambassador's armored limousine was hit earlier in the year. This is an ideal location for militants to strike. Berlin Street and the area immediately adjacent to the Berlin Gardens create a classic chokepoint. It is also a two-way street, with single lanes running parallel to one another. The section of the street running south of the northern route to the British embassy is elevated by approximately six feet, offering a good vantage point for assailants. The section of Berlin Street where the two attacks took place also is adjacent to the Musayk neighborhood, a known radical area where militants can take refuge prior to and possibly after an assault. There are also countless vendors and street cleaners around the area who can provide militants with ample cover in which to blend. In a separate incident Oct. 6, a Yemeni guard killed a French national in the compound of the Austrian oil and gas group OMV in Sanaa. Sources indicate this was the result of a personal dispute between the guards and the French employee and therefore was unrelated to the suspected AQAP attack on Berlin Street. While the murder of Western nationals in Yemen is relatively rare, such retaliatory acts are not uncommon by tribal custom in Yemen. Both incidents remind us that the threat of terrorism and violent acts in general, especially against Westerners and Western interests, persists in Yemen. Most of the threat comes from AQAP, and while the al Qaeda node's operational capacity seems limited (as the last two attacks against foreign convoys have demonstrated, along with other failed operations, its resolve remains high. No doubt, there will be additional attacks in and around Yemen's capital city.