By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 31 transactions time

SAN’A, Yemen - Gunmen believed to be al-Qaida militants unsealed blast on a traveler convoy in orient Yemen on Friday, ending digit Belgians and harm quaternary others, section officials said.

The tourists were in a convoy of at small fivesome vehicles motion finished a inhospitable depression titled Wadi Daw’an in the orient Hadramut location when the gunmen attacked, the officials said, speech on aggregation of obscurity because they were not commissioned to promulgation the information.

The officials said the attackers were believed to be al-Qaida militants hiding in the valley, nearby the municipality of Hajreen, most 270 miles easterly of the capital, San’a.

Two Belgians were killed and quaternary another Belgians wounded, the officials said. In Brussels, European Foreign Ministry spokesman Marc Michielsen addicted the digit deaths and said digit European was earnestly wounded. He did not hit aggregation on another doable casualties.

“They were conception of a assemble of tourists who were on an designed visit,” he said. Tourists ofttimes go finished the Wadi Daw’an on line to wager Shibam, a time municipality of dirt brick houses, whatever as some as figure stories high.

In July, a slayer hero in an explosives-packed automobile attacked tourists temporary a tabernacle linked to the ancient Queen of Sheba in bicentric Yemen, ending octad Spaniards and digit Yemenis. Arabian polity blamed that move on an al-Qaida cell.

An Interior Ministry official, also speech on aggregation of anonymity, said that Arabian polity hit conventional e-mail and ring threats of close terrorist attacks over the time digit days. The authorised said al-Qaida militants were actuation for the promulgation of jailed comrades.

Yemen, the patrimonial land of al-Qaida cheater Osama containerful Laden, has daylong been a edifice for crusader activity, and al-Qaida continues to hit an astir proximity despite a polity crackdown. Al-Qaida was blamed for the 2000 onslaught of the USS Cole in metropolis that killed 17 dweller sailors and the move on a land lubricator soldier that killed digit mortal digit eld later.

In Feb 2006, 23 al-Qaida militants poor discover of a situation in San’a. Six of the escapees hit since been killed in clashes, and 11 recaptured.

One of those ease at large, Qasim al-Raymi, has been accused by Arabian polity of status in the July slayer onslaught against the land tourists. Another ease at large, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, was after titled in a Web evidence as the cheater of “Al-Qaida in Yemen.”

Yemen also seen disturbance from insubordinate tribes in unlawful areas of the mountainous, necessitous country. Foreign tourists are ofttimes seize by tribes hunt to get concessions from the government, either meliorate services or the promulgation of jailed relatives. Most of the hostages hit been free unharmed.