|
Car Bomb Kills Two in Yemeni Capital, German Hostage Freed
SANAA, Dec. 9 (News Agencies) - Two people were killed and three others wounded when a car bomb exploded in Sanaa Saturday night, as Yemeni authorities secured the release of a German hostage kidnapped 10 days ago, news agencies reported.
A BBC report about the car explosion quoted an anonymous security official as saying, "The driver and the passenger sitting next to him were killed, while the passengers in the back seat were injured."
The five were occupants in a car, which exploded as it was being driven in the northern al-Hasba neighborhood of the Yemeni capital, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Police rushed to the scene to investigate the blast, which occurred at the time of iftar, the fast-breaking meal during the current Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
A police official told AFP that an explosive device might have gone off prematurely or the vehicle may have been booby-trapped. But he said the exact circumstances of the blast could not be determined before the investigation was completed.
Explosions are frequent in Yemen and are often linked to the aftermath of the unification of the former north and south Yemen in 1990 and a failed southern secession bid that sparked a 1994 civil war.
As recently as December 2, an explosion ripped through a department store in the southern port city of Aden, wounding two people.
Two bombs also exploded in Aden in mid-October but caused no injuries. One of the blasts occurred the day Yemen was celebrating the October 14 holiday marking southern Yemen's 1963 declaration of intent to eject the British and stage a socialist revolution.
In October 2000, a bomb attack against the destroyer, the U.S.S. Cole, killed 17 American sailors in the port of Aden. Washington has blamed Saudi exile Osama bin Laden for the attack.
Meanwhile, Yemeni army and police Saturday secured the release of a German hostage after 10 days in captivity, earning Sanaa plaudits from Berlin.
"Army and police forces have freed German hostage Karl Lehnardt ... and captured one of the abductors," the interior ministry said in a statement.
Lehnardt, who heads the technical department for the Yemeni franchise of German carmaker Mercedes, was snatched outside his house in the Yemeni capital on November 28 - the third German national this year to be kidnapped in Yemen.
Yemeni authorities on Thursday gave the kidnappers a 48-hour ultimatum to release their hostage or face military action.
A diplomatic source in Sanaa said the ultimatum was decided after a call from the German government for Yemeni authorities to ensure the safety of their national.
Yemeni authorities launched an assault late Tuesday on Al-Mahjezah village in remote Sirwah region, 85 miles from Sanaa, where the hostage was being held.
The attack left at least three tribesmen and two policemen dead.
|
