Explosion at Yemen airport kills 22 people, wounds 50
A large SANAA, YEMEN — explosion struck the airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden on Wednesday, shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed there, security offifficials said. At least 22 people were killed and 50 were wounded in the blast.
The source of the explosion was not immediately clear and no group claimed responsibility for attacking the airport. Noone onthe government plane was hurt.
Officials later reported another explosion close to a palace in the city where the Cabinet members were transferred following the airport attack. And the Saudi- led coalition later shot downa bombladen drone that attempted to target the palace, according to Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV channel.
AP footage from the scene at the airport showed members of the government delegation disembarking as the blast shook the grounds. Many ministers rushed back inside the plane or ran down the stairs, seeking shelter.
Thick smoke rose into the air from near the terminal building. Offifficials at the scene said they saw bodies lying on the tarmac and elsewhere at the airport.
Yemeni Communication Minister Naguib al-Awg, who was also on the plane, told The Associated Press that he heard two explosions, suggesting they were dr one attacks. Yemeni Prime Minister Mae en Abdulmalik Saeed and the others were quickly whisked from the airport to Mashiq Palace in the city.
Military and security forces sealed offff the area around the the palace.
“Itwould have beena disaster if the plane was bombed,” al-Awg said, insisting the plane was the target of the attack as it was supposed to land earlier.
Saeed tweeted that he and his cabinet were safe and unhurt. He called the explosions a “cowardly terrorist act” that was part of thewar on “the Yemeni state and our great people.”
Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak blamed Iranian-backed Houthi rebels for the attacks without offering evidence. Houthi off did nor answer phone calls from the AP seeking comment.
U.S. Ambassador in Yemen Christopher Henzel said the U.S. condemned the attacks in Aden. “We stand with the Yemeni people as they strive for peace, and we support the new Yemeni Government as it works towards a better future for all Yemenis,” he said.