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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Yemen defence minister survives assassination attempt - sources

Yemen's Defence Minister Major General Muhammad Nasir Ahmad (front) attends a debate at the Parliament on a law granting immunity to outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh over the killing of protesters, in Sanaa January 21, 2012. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Yemen's Defence Minister Major General Muhammad Nasir Ahmad (front) attends a debate at the Parliament on a law granting immunity to outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh over the killing of protesters, in Sanaa January 21, 2012. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

SANAA (Reuters) - A car bomb targeting Yemeni Defence Minister Major General Muhammad Nasir Ahmad exploded outside the prime minister's office in Sanaa on Tuesday, killing at least five bodyguards but the minister was safe, government sources said.

The attack came following the death of the number two leader of the Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda, Said al-Shehri, in an attack in eastern Yemen last week.

(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari, writing by Sami Aboudi, editing by Diana Abdallah)

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