A series of attacks at Yemen’s defence ministry have left at least 20 people dead and 37 injured, officials say.
A suicide car bomb blew up at the gates
of the complex in Sanaa’s Bab al-Yaman district, at the entrance to the
old city, and a gunbattle followed with suspected militants inside.
Officials said the situation was under control and most of the gunmen dead.
Yemeni security forces are fighting regional rebels and al-Qaeda, while combating lawlessness and army splits.
No-one has taken responsibility for the
attack, but correspondents say it bears the hallmarks of al-Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
“The attack took place shortly after
working hours started at the ministry when a suicide bomber drove a car
into the gate,” a ministry source said, quoted by Reuters.
The blast was heard hundreds of metres away.
“The explosion was very violent, the
whole place shook because of it and plumes of smoke rose from the
building,” an eyewitness told the agency.
Officials said a second car followed
whose occupants opened fire at the complex, and a battle ensued
involving gunmen in military uniforms.
“Most” of the gunmen were killed, officials said, but it was not clear how many were involved.
The scene has been cordoned off and casualties were taken to a military hospital in the compound.
Unconfirmed reports suggest the hospital itself was targeted by the militants and was damaged.
The incident comes aid tight security in
the last few weeks following a series of hit-and-run attacks on
officials by militants on motorbikes, blamed on AQAP.
The country has been going through a painful transition since President Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced from office in 2011.
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