US condemns Yemen bombing

The United States on Thursday condemned the bombing of a Yemeni defense ministry complex which left 52 people dead, and called on Americans not to travel to the country. "We extend our sincere condolences to the families of the victims," deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said, condemning "the senseless killing and wounding of dozens." Thursday's attack by a suicide bomber, who drove an explosives-packed car into the sprawling facility, follows a spate of hit-and-run strikes on military personnel and officials, as the country struggles to complete a thorny political transition. The attack "bears the hallmarks of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, it was a suicide bomber followed by some gunmen," Harf said. "We stand with Yemen against this violence and remain firmly committed to supporting the Yemeni people as they seek to ... move forward peacefully with Yemen's historic democratic transition," she told journalists. Yemen's supreme security committee said in a statement on the Saba news agency that 52 people had been killed, including two German doctors. But Harf said there was no information on whether any Americans had been hurt in the attack. Washington was still seeking "additional information," and the embassy was advising all of our employees to avoid the area in the vicinity of the ministry of defense in Sanaa," she said. The State Department also "strongly recommends that U.S. citizens defer all travel to and around Yemen."