Monday, May 21, 2012

Suicide bomber kills at least 96, wounds 300 in Yemen

(CSM) A suicide bomber dressed in a Yemeni military uniform detonated himself during rehearsal for a parade on Monday in the capital city of Sanaa. As many as 96 people are reported dead and scores more wounded.

Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi was scheduled to attend the parade on Tuesday to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the unification of north and south Yemen, but he was not present during the bombing. The Yemeni defense minister and chief of staff were present during the blast, but were uninjured.

The bombing is the largest attack in Yemen’s capital since Mr. Hadi took office in February.

“We heard a massive explosion. Minutes later, there were so many emergency vehicles, it seems as if hundreds were injured,” said Ali al-Husseini, a local who was near the attack in an interview with CNN.

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