Car bomb kills 3 security personnel in Yemen
Source: Gulf today
SANAA: A car bomb believed to have been set off be a suicide attacker
killed three Yemeni security personnel in the southern city of Aden,
the government said, as residents grew fearful of a possible attempt by
militants to seize control of the strategic port city.
The government quickly said it suspected Al Qaeda was behind the bombing on Friday in Aden's free-trade zone, which went off after anti-government demonstrators in the city and across the nation again held large weekend rallies in their four-month campaign to oust Yemen's autocratic leader of nearly 33 years.
Regime opponents have accused the government of exaggerating the Al Qaeda threat to try to hang on to Western support, and local investigators in Aden said it was too early to tell what caused Friday's blast.
The months of political turmoil have raised fears, perhaps most acutely in the US, that Yemen's Al Qaeda franchise will seize the opportunity and carve out more room to operate freely and plot attacks on the West from its redoubts in the country's remote and mountainous hinterlands.
Residents of Aden said their worries of a possible militant takeover were fueled by the sudden and unexplained withdrawal of military forces loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh from checkpoints at the entrances to the city and other key positions.
A similar government withdrawal preceded the recent takeover of two nearby towns by hundreds of militants, some of them thought to be linked to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
“We are all very worried of what lies ahead. There are rumours all over the town that militants from Al Qaeda will take over Aden,” said Mohammed Al Dalei, a 28-year-old teacher.
Some residents of Aden said gunmen appeared around the city in recent days, sometimes firing randomly in the air or at strategic buildings, such as the Central Bank.
A takeover of Aden would put extremist fighters in control of a major port at the southern entrance to the Red Sea and the vital shipping lane to and from the Suez Canal.
Friday's explosion was heard throughout the city and blew out the glass facade of a four-story building. Besides the three killed, three others were injured, said a medical and a security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.
Yemen's president is clinging to power despite the daily protests against him and an attack on his palace this month that badly wounded him and forced him to fly to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.
The crisis began in February with protests by largely peaceful crowds calling for Saleh to end his rule over the impoverished country on the southern edge of Arabia. A government crackdown on unarmed protesters has killed at least 167 people, according to Human Rights Watch.
The UN's human rights office said Friday it plans to send a team of investigators on a 10-day visit to Yemen starting on Monday to examine allegations of serious human rights abuses.
In New York, the UN Security Council on Friday expressed its “grave concern” about the deteriorating situation and called on all sides to show maximum restraint and engage in dialogue.
The government quickly said it suspected Al Qaeda was behind the bombing on Friday in Aden's free-trade zone, which went off after anti-government demonstrators in the city and across the nation again held large weekend rallies in their four-month campaign to oust Yemen's autocratic leader of nearly 33 years.
Regime opponents have accused the government of exaggerating the Al Qaeda threat to try to hang on to Western support, and local investigators in Aden said it was too early to tell what caused Friday's blast.
The months of political turmoil have raised fears, perhaps most acutely in the US, that Yemen's Al Qaeda franchise will seize the opportunity and carve out more room to operate freely and plot attacks on the West from its redoubts in the country's remote and mountainous hinterlands.
Residents of Aden said their worries of a possible militant takeover were fueled by the sudden and unexplained withdrawal of military forces loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh from checkpoints at the entrances to the city and other key positions.
A similar government withdrawal preceded the recent takeover of two nearby towns by hundreds of militants, some of them thought to be linked to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
“We are all very worried of what lies ahead. There are rumours all over the town that militants from Al Qaeda will take over Aden,” said Mohammed Al Dalei, a 28-year-old teacher.
Some residents of Aden said gunmen appeared around the city in recent days, sometimes firing randomly in the air or at strategic buildings, such as the Central Bank.
A takeover of Aden would put extremist fighters in control of a major port at the southern entrance to the Red Sea and the vital shipping lane to and from the Suez Canal.
Friday's explosion was heard throughout the city and blew out the glass facade of a four-story building. Besides the three killed, three others were injured, said a medical and a security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.
Yemen's president is clinging to power despite the daily protests against him and an attack on his palace this month that badly wounded him and forced him to fly to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.
The crisis began in February with protests by largely peaceful crowds calling for Saleh to end his rule over the impoverished country on the southern edge of Arabia. A government crackdown on unarmed protesters has killed at least 167 people, according to Human Rights Watch.
The UN's human rights office said Friday it plans to send a team of investigators on a 10-day visit to Yemen starting on Monday to examine allegations of serious human rights abuses.
In New York, the UN Security Council on Friday expressed its “grave concern” about the deteriorating situation and called on all sides to show maximum restraint and engage in dialogue.
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