22 Killed in Yemen Suicide Bombing
A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a police academy in the Yemeni capital on Wednesday, killing at least 22 people .
Many among the dead are young police cadets and the attack investigators said bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda.
Policeman Fadel Ali told Reuters the cadets were leaving the college when the bomber attacked. “We ran to the place and found dozens of cadets covered in blood. Blood was everywhere. The scene was horrific.”
Another witness said he saw a man in his 20s enter the crowd as cadets gathered in front of the academy. “A loud explosion shook the area and I saw cadets lying on the ground with blood everywhere.”
The bombing Sanaa followed a similar attack in the capital in May, when a suicide bomber in army uniform killed more than 90 people during a rehearsal for a military parade.
That attack - claimed by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) - along with Wednesday’s bombing - showed quite how far the Yemeni government is from defeating the Islamist insurgents despite a US-backed military offensive which drove them out of their southern strongholds.
The insurgents have vowed to carry their fight across Yemen.