Probable Al-Qaeda strike at a 3,000-year-old temple of jahiliyya — the “pre-Islamic period of ignorance,” which traditionally Islam regards as a worthless period containing nothing worthwhile. (Consider the implications for Notre Dame cathedral, the Vatican, the Louvre, etc. etc. etc.) From AP (thanks to someone):
SAN’A, Yemen (AP) — A suicide bomber killed eight people Monday when he drove his car into the site of the ancient Queen of Sheba temple in northeast Yemen, police said.
The Queen of Sheba temple was built about 3,000 years ago.
Police in the province of Mareb said the suicide car bomb explosion also wounded seven other people. Six of the people killed were tourists, believed to be mostly from Spain. The other two were Yemenis, police said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Witnesses reported seeing a car enter a gate before exploding at the site of temple, which is known in Yemen by its Arabic name, Balqis. The temple was built about 3,000 years ago at the time of the ancient Queen of Sheba.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but police in Mareb said they had received information last month about a possible al Qaeda attack. Authorities did not elaborate.