2013 Sana'a attack | |
---|---|
Part of Yemeni Crisis (2011-present) | |
Location | Sana'a, Yemen |
Date | 5 December 2013 |
Target | Yemeni Defense Ministry |
Attack type | Suicide car bombing |
Deaths | 56 [1] |
Injured | 200+ [1] |
Perpetrators | ![]() |
The 2013 Sana'a attack occurred on 5 December 2013 when a series of bomb and mass shooting gun attacks killed at least 56 people and wounded 162 at the Yemeni Defense Ministry in Sana'a, Yemen. [2] [3] Yemeni military investigators say 12 militants, mostly Saudi nationals, were responsible for the attack [4]
Gunmen killed four guards surrounding the ministry compound. [5] After the gate was open, a suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden car into the western entrance of the Defense Ministry complex. The suicide car bombing was followed by a coordinated attack by militants in another car. The gunmen entered the Al-Oradi Hospital inside the compound, shooting at those inside and killing many. [5] At least six of the casualties were doctors and four were patients from a hospital within the complex. Another coordinated attack and gunfight outside the complex late afternoon was reported to have taken place. [6]
On 5 December, Ansar al-Sharia, a militant group linked to al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the attack. [7] [8]
The attacks claimed 56 lives and caused more than 200 injuries. Foreign medical workers were among the casualties. [1] Among those who were killed were seven Filipino medical workers (including one doctor), [9] [10] two German aid workers, two Vietnamese doctors and one Indian nurse. Officials have said that all 12 militants which including Saudi Arabians were killed. [1]
Nationality | Deaths |
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![]() | 20+ [11] |
![]() | 7 [12] |
![]() | 2 [12] |
![]() | 2 [12] |
![]() | 1 [12] |
On 6 December, the U.S. military has increased its regional alert status following deadly, coordinated strikes on Yemen's defense ministry that killed 57 and wounded 167 people on Thursday, a senior U.S. defense official said on Friday. “The United States military is fully prepared to support our Yemeni partners in the wake of this incident,” the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity, and without offering further details. [7]
The Philippines has banned deployment of migrant workers to Yemen in response to the attack which saw the deaths of seven Filipinos. The Philippine government will pay the expenses of Filipinos who wish to return to the Philippines. [9]
Germany temporarily reduced its staff at its embassy in Sana'a and called for its aid workers in Yemen to leave the country "as quickly as possible",. [13]
After footage of the attack was aired on Yemeni television, showing an attack on a hospital within the ministry compound and the killing of medical personal and patients, the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula released a video message apologizing. Qassim al-Raimi claimed that the team of attackers were directed not to assault the hospital in the attack, but that one had gone ahead and done so. [14]
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Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, abbreviated as AQAP, also known as Ansar al-Sharia in Yemen, is a Sunni Islamist insurgent extremist group, which is part of the al-Qaeda network and primarily active in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. It is considered the most active of al-Qaeda's branches that emerged after the weakening of central leadership.
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Jama'at Ansar al-Shari'a, also known as Ansar al-Shari'a, is a Yemen-based umbrella organization which includes units from several militant Islamic groups of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). In 2011, AQAP created Ansar Al-Sharia as a Yemen-based affiliate focused on waging an insurgency rather than international attacks on the West. In the view of the International Crisis Group, AQAP is "an internally diverse organisation with varying layers of support among the local population" and many AAS members and allies are not committed to AQAP's international agenda.
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52 people die in Yemen attack