A Yemeni security official said al Qaeda had claimed responsibility in a statement for an apparent mortar attack on a complex housing Americans and other Westerners in the Yemeni capital yesterday.

Islamist Web sites that traditionally carry such statements did not have a claim from Yemen's al Qaeda wing.

Three blasts broke windows but caused no injuries at the complex in southwest Sanaa. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for a failed mortar attack on the US embassy in Sanaa last month which wounded girls at a nearby school.