Bomb blast hits air force bus in Yemen

Yemen, August 25 – A bomb blast has struck a bus transporting air force personnel to their base in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, killing at least six people, officials say.

 

Several others are reported to have been wounded. The bus was travelling on the road leading to Sanaa international airport, near the base, an official said.

 

The government is battling al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula militants who often target the military. Ameen Saree, an air force officer who rushed to the scene, said a bomb had been planted in the vehicle.

 

"The bomb exploded in the rear part of the bus and six of our colleagues were immediately killed," he told Reuters news agency.

Yemen map

Air force spokesman Col Mahdi al-Aidarous said about 24 officers and soldiers were on the bus, the Associated Press news agency reports.

 

Earlier this month, suspected al-Qaeda militants killed five soldiers in an attack on a gas terminal in southern Yemen.

 

And in early August, the US closed 19 diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa in response to what it said was a threat of a terrorist attack.

 

Its embassy in Sanaa had remained closed until Tuesday, although other missions had already reopened, "because of ongoing concerns".

 

At the same time, the UK withdrew diplomatic staff from Yemen, closing its embassy in Sanaa and urging its citizens to leave. The embassy reopened a week ago.

 

Image/news Source: BBC