Indian priest kidnapped in Yemen retirement home attack-officials

Gunmen have kidnapped an Indian priest from an old people's home they attacked last week in southern Yemen killing at least 15 people, local government and security officials said on Sunday.

The Indian Foreign Minister announced on her twitter account an Indian national identified as Father Tom Uzhunnalil had been "abducted by terrorists in Yemen".

The minister, Sushma Swaraj, added that officials in neighbouring Djibouti were trying to ascertain the whereabouts of Father Uzhunnalil "so that we can secure his release".

Officials in the local government of Aden confirmed that the priest had been kidnapped and said authorities were investigating the attack.

No one claimed responsibility for Friday's assault in which four gunmen posing as relatives of one of the guests at the home burst inside, killing four Indian nuns, two Yemeni female staff members, eight elderly residents and a guard.

The motive for the attack was not immediately clear, the official said.

"These terrorist acts have continued and have touched the innocent, the peaceful, the unarmed and religious figures," state news agency Saba said, quoting a source in the Aden office of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Their aim was to "create chaos", it added.

Aden had been racked by lawlessness since Hadi supporters, backed by Gulf Arab military forces, drove fighters from Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi group from the city in July last year.

 
The Yemeni government has repeatedly vowed to restore security to the city but so far had had little success.