By AHMED AL-HAJ and HAMZA HENDAWI ADVERTISING By AHMED AL-HAJ and HAMZA HENDAWI Associated Press ADEN, Yemen — Militants stormed the Defense Ministry in the heart of Yemen’s capital Thursday, killing 52 people, including at least seven foreigners, in a
By AHMED AL-HAJ and HAMZA HENDAWI
Associated Press
ADEN, Yemen — Militants stormed the Defense Ministry in the heart of Yemen’s capital Thursday, killing 52 people, including at least seven foreigners, in a suicide car bombing and assault by gunmen. The brazen, al-Qaida-style attack follows a rise in U.S. drone strikes in this key American ally in the Middle East.
The two-stage operation came as the defense minister was in Washington for talks. The U.S. military increased its regional alert status after the attack and is “fully prepared to support our Yemeni partners,” a senior U.S. defense official said.
At least 167 people were wounded, nine seriously, in the bombing and fierce firefight, which underscored the ability of insurgents to take advantage of Yemen’s instability and tenuous security — even at the headquarters of its military.
Among the dead at the Defense Ministry complex, which also houses a military hospital, were soldiers and civilians, including seven foreigners — two aid workers from Germany, two doctors from Vietnam, two nurses from the Philippines and a nurse from India, according to Yemen’s Supreme Security Commission, which issued the casualty figures. Among the Yemeni civilians killed were a doctor and a senior judge, it said.
