Deaths at 22 in blast at Yemen airport

An explosion sends people running Wednesday at the airport in Aden, Yemen, shortly after a plane carrying Yemen’s newly formed Cabinet landed. No one on board the plane was hurt, but at least 22 people were killed and 50 wounded at the airport. Later, an explosion went off near the palace where Cabinet members were staying, and a bomb-laden drone reportedly was shot down nearby.
(AP)
An explosion sends people running Wednesday at the airport in Aden, Yemen, shortly after a plane carrying Yemen’s newly formed Cabinet landed. No one on board the plane was hurt, but at least 22 people were killed and 50 wounded at the airport. Later, an explosion went off near the palace where Cabinet members were staying, and a bomb-laden drone reportedly was shot down nearby. (AP)

SANAA, Yemen -- A large 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 officials 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. No one on the government plane was hurt.

Officials later reported another explosion close to a palace in the city where the Cabinet members were transferred after the airport attack. And the Saudi-led coalition later shot down a bomb-laden drone that attempted to target the palace, according to Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV channel.

The Cabinet reshuffle was seen as a major step toward closing a rift between the government of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, and southern separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government is at war with Iran-allied Houthi rebels, who control most of northern Yemen as well as the country's capital, Sanaa.

[Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWrcUSeh4Wg]

Yemeni communication minister Naguib al-Awg, who was on the plane, said he heard two explosions, suggesting they were drone attacks. Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed and the others were quickly whisked from the airport to Mashiq Palace.

Military and security forces sealed off the area around the the palace.

"It would have been a 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 the war on "the Yemeni state and our great people."

Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak blamed the Houthis for the attacks without offering evidence. Houthi officials did nor answer phone calls from the AP seeking comment.

Mohammed al-Roubid, deputy head of Aden's health office, said at least 16 people were killed in the explosion and 60 were wounded. Later, the Interior Ministry raised the casualty toll to at least 22 dead and 50 wounded.

Images posted on social media from the scene showed rubble and broken glass strewn about near the airport building and at least two bodies lying on the ground.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said two of its workers were killed in the airport blast, including a Yemeni who helped coordinate the group's air transport activities, and a Rwandan who was an X-ray technician.

It said three others were wounded, including one seriously, and that one was unaccounted for. Lebanon's official news agency identified one of the wounded Red Cross workers as Lebanon resident Yara Khawaja, the group's spokeswoman in Yemen.

"This is a tragic day for the [Red Cross] and for the people of Yemen," said Dominik Stillhart, the group's director of operations.

Officials said another explosion hit close to the heavily fortified Mashiq Palace, where the Cabinet members were taken. The source of that blast and whether it occurred before or after the Cabinet members' arrival were not immediately known. There were no immediate reports of fatalities and the officials said the Cabinet members arrived safely.

U.N. special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, condemned the explosion as an "unacceptable act of violence." He said in a tweet that it was "a tragic reminder of the importance of bringing #Yemen urgently back on the path towards peace."

Anwar Gargash, the United Arab Emirates' foreign minister, said the attack on Aden's airport was meant to destroy the power-sharing deal between Yemen's internationally recognized government and the southern separatists.

Christopher Henzel, the U.S. ambassador in Yemen, 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.

The Yemeni ministers were returning to Aden from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, after being sworn in last week as part of a reshuffle after a deal with the separatists. Yemen's internationally recognized government has worked mostly from self-imposed exile in Riyadh during the country's years-long civil war.

The Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed al-Jaber, described the attack as a "cowardly terrorist act targeting the Yemeni people, their security and stability."

Despite "the disappointment and confusion caused by those who create death and destruction," the peace agreement between the government and southern separatists "will go forward," he said.

Information for this article was contributed by Maggie Michael of The Associated Press.

A building at the airport in Yemen’s southern city of Aden shows damage Wednesday where two explosions rocked the airport shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed.
(AP/Majid Saleh)
A building at the airport in Yemen’s southern city of Aden shows damage Wednesday where two explosions rocked the airport shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed. (AP/Majid Saleh)
People walk away from the runway following an explosion at the airport in Aden, Yemen, shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. No one on board the government plane was hurt but initial reports said several people at the airport were killed. (AP Photo/ Wael Qubady)
People walk away from the runway following an explosion at the airport in Aden, Yemen, shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. No one on board the government plane was hurt but initial reports said several people at the airport were killed. (AP Photo/ Wael Qubady)
Bystanders stand near the runway of Yemen southern city of Aden’s airport shortly after an explosion hit as a government plane landed, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. The blast struck the airport building shortly after a Yemenia airlines plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed. No one on the government plane was hurt.  (AP Photo/Wael Qubady)
Bystanders stand near the runway of Yemen southern city of Aden’s airport shortly after an explosion hit as a government plane landed, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. The blast struck the airport building shortly after a Yemenia airlines plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed. No one on the government plane was hurt. (AP Photo/Wael Qubady)
Blood and debris covers the damaged portion of the airport in Yemen’s southern city of Aden after an explosion, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. The blast struck the airport building shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed on Wednesday. No one on the government plane was hurt.  (AP Photo)
Blood and debris covers the damaged portion of the airport in Yemen’s southern city of Aden after an explosion, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. The blast struck the airport building shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed on Wednesday. No one on the government plane was hurt. (AP Photo)
Glass and debris covers the damaged portion of the airport in Yemen’s southern city of Aden after an explosion, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. The blast struck the airport building shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed on Wednesday. No one on the government plane was hurt.  (AP Photo)
Glass and debris covers the damaged portion of the airport in Yemen’s southern city of Aden after an explosion, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. The blast struck the airport building shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed on Wednesday. No one on the government plane was hurt. (AP Photo)
Bystanders stand near the runway of Yemen southern city of Aden’s airport shortly after an explosion hit as a government plane landed, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. The blast struck the airport building shortly after a Yemenia airlines plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed. No one on the government plane was hurt.  (AP Photo/Wael Qubady)
Bystanders stand near the runway of Yemen southern city of Aden’s airport shortly after an explosion hit as a government plane landed, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. The blast struck the airport building shortly after a Yemenia airlines plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed. No one on the government plane was hurt. (AP Photo/Wael Qubady)

Upcoming Events