Sanaa - Yemen's three fighter jets were destroyed and several others were damaged in the blasts that shook the midnight air base that seems to stem from a bomb planted in the planes, officials said told AFP on Monday.
"Unidentified attackers apparently set off a bomb in fighter jets loaded with ammunition in preparation for combat missions are planned for Monday morning," said a military official who asked not to be named.
"Three fighter jets on fire and several others damaged by the explosions," said an aviation official at Sanaa International Airport is located adjacent to the base.
Military official told AFP, fighter planes had been scheduled to perform combat missions in Arhab area, toward the north gate of Sana'a, which is only 40 kilometers.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility on the attack, and apparently no one was hurt.
A large number of elite Republican Guard troops under the command of Ahmad, son of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, was in Arhab and so far managed to prevent the troops the First Armored Division dissenters pro-General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar moving towards Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.
The attack on the military air base comes amid escalating violence, particularly in the south.
Since the anti-government protests erupted in Yemen in late January, militants take advantage of the weakening of central power by building a base in a number of southern provinces.
Yemeni security forces for several weeks fighting groups of armed men who were accused of being members of al-Qaeda in Abyan, southern Yemen, especially in the provincial capital, Zinjibar, which is largely controlled by the militants since May.
The violence has killed hundreds of soldiers from the armed militants who call themselves "followers of Sharia" control most of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, on May 29.
Security officials said that the militant Al-Qaeda, but the political opposition accused the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh-fetched about the threat of jihad in order to ward off Western pressure against the power that has lasted 33 years.
The battle took place in Abyan when mass protests demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh entered the ninth month, that crippled a number of cities and push the country into political uncertainty.
Saleh, who was in a hospital in Saudi Arabia since June after he was injured in a bomb attack on his palace in Sanaa, returned to Yemen on 23 September with the promise of peace.
Demonstrations in Yemen since late January which demanded the resignation of Saleh has killed hundreds of people.
With the number of deaths continues to increase, Saleh, Washington's old ally in the war against Al-Qaeda, losing U.S. support.
The U.S. government took part in efforts to negotiate the resignation of Saleh and temporary transfer of power, according to a report in the New York Times.
U.S. officials regard Saleh's position can no longer be maintained because of widespread protests and he had to leave the presidency, the report said.
Nevertheless, Washington warned that the fall of Saleh as the main U.S. ally in the war against Al-Qaeda would pose "real threat" to the United States.
Yemen is the ancestral state of the late leader of al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden is still facing separatist violence in the north and south.
North Yemen and South Yemen formally united Republic of Yemen in 1990, but many in the southern region, which is where most of Yemen's oil, said that the northern people use it to dominate the unification of the natural resources and discriminate against them.
Western countries, especially the U.S., increasingly concerned over the threat of extremism in Yemen, including the activities of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Western countries and Saudi Arabia, Yemen's neighbors, worried that the country will fail, and Al-Qaeda take advantage of the chaos to strengthen their grip on the impoverished Arab country and turn it into a place to launch further attacks.
Yemen into the world spotlight when the regional wing of Al-Qaeda mastermind AQAP states failed bomb attacks on U.S. passenger plane on Christmas Day.
AQAP declared in late December 2009, they gave the suspected Nigerians "technically sophisticated tools" and told the Americans that more attacks will be carried out.
Analysts fear that Yemen will collapse due to Shi'ite rebellion in the north, separatist movements in the south and the attacks of Al-Qaeda. Poor country that borders Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter.
In addition to separatism, Yemen is also hit by the kidnapping of foreigners in recent years.
"Unidentified attackers apparently set off a bomb in fighter jets loaded with ammunition in preparation for combat missions are planned for Monday morning," said a military official who asked not to be named.
"Three fighter jets on fire and several others damaged by the explosions," said an aviation official at Sanaa International Airport is located adjacent to the base.
Military official told AFP, fighter planes had been scheduled to perform combat missions in Arhab area, toward the north gate of Sana'a, which is only 40 kilometers.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility on the attack, and apparently no one was hurt.
A large number of elite Republican Guard troops under the command of Ahmad, son of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, was in Arhab and so far managed to prevent the troops the First Armored Division dissenters pro-General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar moving towards Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.
The attack on the military air base comes amid escalating violence, particularly in the south.
Since the anti-government protests erupted in Yemen in late January, militants take advantage of the weakening of central power by building a base in a number of southern provinces.
Yemeni security forces for several weeks fighting groups of armed men who were accused of being members of al-Qaeda in Abyan, southern Yemen, especially in the provincial capital, Zinjibar, which is largely controlled by the militants since May.
The violence has killed hundreds of soldiers from the armed militants who call themselves "followers of Sharia" control most of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, on May 29.
Security officials said that the militant Al-Qaeda, but the political opposition accused the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh-fetched about the threat of jihad in order to ward off Western pressure against the power that has lasted 33 years.
The battle took place in Abyan when mass protests demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh entered the ninth month, that crippled a number of cities and push the country into political uncertainty.
Saleh, who was in a hospital in Saudi Arabia since June after he was injured in a bomb attack on his palace in Sanaa, returned to Yemen on 23 September with the promise of peace.
Demonstrations in Yemen since late January which demanded the resignation of Saleh has killed hundreds of people.
With the number of deaths continues to increase, Saleh, Washington's old ally in the war against Al-Qaeda, losing U.S. support.
The U.S. government took part in efforts to negotiate the resignation of Saleh and temporary transfer of power, according to a report in the New York Times.
U.S. officials regard Saleh's position can no longer be maintained because of widespread protests and he had to leave the presidency, the report said.
Nevertheless, Washington warned that the fall of Saleh as the main U.S. ally in the war against Al-Qaeda would pose "real threat" to the United States.
Yemen is the ancestral state of the late leader of al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden is still facing separatist violence in the north and south.
North Yemen and South Yemen formally united Republic of Yemen in 1990, but many in the southern region, which is where most of Yemen's oil, said that the northern people use it to dominate the unification of the natural resources and discriminate against them.
Western countries, especially the U.S., increasingly concerned over the threat of extremism in Yemen, including the activities of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Western countries and Saudi Arabia, Yemen's neighbors, worried that the country will fail, and Al-Qaeda take advantage of the chaos to strengthen their grip on the impoverished Arab country and turn it into a place to launch further attacks.
Yemen into the world spotlight when the regional wing of Al-Qaeda mastermind AQAP states failed bomb attacks on U.S. passenger plane on Christmas Day.
AQAP declared in late December 2009, they gave the suspected Nigerians "technically sophisticated tools" and told the Americans that more attacks will be carried out.
Analysts fear that Yemen will collapse due to Shi'ite rebellion in the north, separatist movements in the south and the attacks of Al-Qaeda. Poor country that borders Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter.
In addition to separatism, Yemen is also hit by the kidnapping of foreigners in recent years.
Source: antaranews.com
0 comments