“There has been problems between the Baptist Convention's International Mission and some Islamic parties in Yemen because of the missionary activities,” Yemeni officials

SANAA, December 31 (IslamOnline & News agencies) - Yemeni authorities were investigating Tuesday, December 31, the fatal shooting of three U.S. missionaries by a suspected Islamic extremist, who declared carrying out the killings to stop missionary activities in a Muslim country.

Yemeni officials said that there has been problems between the U.S. Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission and some of the Islamic parties in Yemen because of the missionary activities of the doctors and the workers in the hospital.

According to al-Jazeera Channel correspondent, some Yemeni citizens were Christianized at the hands of these doctors, the correspondent said, adding that the hospital has received during the last few weeks warnings from the U.S. Embassy in Yemen regarding the targeting of the Americans working in the hospital.

The Yemeni officials said that the gunman confessed being a member of the right-wing Yemeni Jihad group, adding that “his goal was clearing the area of U.S. missionaries and getting close to Allah”.

However, Australian officials said the victims were targeted because of their nationality.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said officials in his department had spoken by telephone with an Australian doctor who survived Monday's attack in Ibb province, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"There were two Australian doctors who were in the hospital at the time when the terrorist attack took place and the American doctors were killed," Downer said.

"The understanding we have from a phone conversation we have had with one of the Australian doctors is that the terrorists specifically targeted the Americans. It was obviously a very frightening experience."

The gunman was identified as 32-year-old Ali Abdulrazzak al-Kamel from Damar province, Yemeni officials said.

He burst into an administration meeting and killed hospital administrator William Koehn, purchasing agent Kathleen Gariety and doctor Martha Myers.

Pharmacist Donald Caswell was wounded by two bullets but was expected to recover, The U.S.-based Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board said.

Kamel was arrested immediately after the shooting, the first major anti-U.S. operation in Yemen since the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in the southern port of Aden that left 17 American sailors dead.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in a message of condolence to U.S. counterpart George W. Bush, vowed that "the authors of this hateful crime will not escape punishment and will be punished by justice so they can serve as examples to others.

"We are deeply shocked by this regrettable incident in which three American doctors were killed by an extremist while doing their job for the Yemeni people," Saleh said in the message carried by the official SABA news agency.

"We are in the same trench in fighting terrorism and drying up its resources because it is a scourge that threatens peace and security in the world," he said.

U.S. Demands Better Yemeni Security

Meanwhile, the United States has asked the authorities in Yemen to provide more protection for its citizens after the murders.

Deploring the attack, a White House spokesman said American and Yemeni investigators were working together to bring those responsible to justice, according to the BBC news online.

American officials say it is too early to tell if the killings are linked to al-Qaeda, which the United States blames for previous attacks in Yemen.

Under U.S. pressure Sanaa has tried to crack down on (so-called) terrorism and arrested dozens of suspects since the Cole suicide bombing, and especially after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

Yemeni authorities launched a massive sweep against members of the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden believed to be hiding in the Arabian peninsula republic, and "cooperated" with the United States in a missile attack from a U.S. unmanned aircraft that killed six suspects in Yemen on November 3.

A government report on "terrorist" attacks committed in the country since 1997 submitted to the Yemeni parliament Monday said "there is a direct link between extremist elements belonging to certain political parties and elements of the al-Qaeda network."

"Supporters of certain parties encourage elements of the al-Qaeda network... to commit acts of sabotage and terrorism in the country and incite them against the government and the people," the document added.

"Elements have declared fatwas (religious decrees) in order to fight foreigners, in particular Americans, within the wider context of calls to lead a jihad (holy war) against unbelievers," it said.