Explosion in Aden
Thats all I know but its enough to know its bad news.
Update: According to the Defense Ministry, some old ammunition blew up from the heat of the sun and they were designated to be destroyed anyway, here’s the article:
26 Septemper News
A Security source in Ministry of Interior said that the explosions, which were heard today in Hadeed Mount zone in Aden had resulted from the explosion of a small quantity of old ammunition on Hadeed Mount square, which were designed to be destroyed.
The source told “26sep.net” The preliminary investigations revealed that the explosion might be resulted by ammunition friction to each other or as a result of the high temperature of the sun.
It added that the Civil Defense Corps and the Corps of Engineers dominated the incident, which did not result in any losses.
Well that’s the nicest possible explanation possible.
Just as an aside, I wonder if making IEDs is illegal in Yemen if they are for use by “the resistance” in “occupied” countries. Its not illegal to go fight in any country thats “occupied,” and President Saleh recently encouraged his citizens to send money, weapons and fighters to Lebanon.
Also who is going to tell Yemen’s Ministry of Defense’s Official News Agency, 26 Septemper, that September is spelled with a B.
Casualties according to the hospital include two women killed and one man injured.
AFP Update: Its a short circut now.
A series of explosions rocked southern Yemen’s port city of Aden after a short-circuit in an arms depot where old weapons were stored, an official told AFP.
“The explosions were caused by a short-circuit. This started a fire in a depot at Jabal Hadid where old weapons were warehoused,” said the official who did not wish to be identified.
He said terrorism had been ruled out as the cause of the blasts.
“No one was killed or injured — the site of the blasts was isolated and far from residential areas,” he added.
A witness told AFP earlier that several explosions were heard “and plumes of smoke are rising from the Jabal Hadid area”. Several fire trucks were seen heading in the direction of the flames.
Aden was the scene of the bombings of the US destroyer Cole in October 2000 when 17 American sailors were killed, and the French oil tanker Limburg two years later, killing one crew member.
Yemen is considered by the administration of US President George W. Bush to be “one of the most important partners in the war against terror,” especially in tracking the movements of suspected Al-Qaeda members following the deadly attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.
Yemen has also been an “inconsistent” partner according to Frances Townsend.
NJ: After Pakistan, which of the world’s ungoverned or weakly governed spaces cause you the most concern?
Townsend: I worry about Iraq and Afghanistan, not because their governments aren’t committed to the fight against terrorism, but rather because they face significant resistance from insurgencies inside their own territory. I worry about a place like Somalia, which has not had a functioning government for a long time. I’m concerned that Yemen has been an inconsistent partner in the war on terror. And nothing makes me angrier, quite frankly, than state sponsors like Iran who continue to fund terrorist organizations as a deliberate extension of their foreign policy. Recent events in Lebanon were only the latest manifestation of this state sponsorship of terrorism, which remains a huge problem.
