Yemen says controls defense ministry compound, 11 militants killed

     
The two-stage operation came as the defense minister was in Washington for talks. The U.S. military increased its regional alert status after the attack and is "fully prepared to support our Yemeni partners," a senior US defense official said.
     
At least 167 people were wounded, nine seriously, in the bombing and fierce firefight, which underscored the ability of insurgents to take advantage of Yemen's instability and tenuous security  even at the headquarters of its military.
     
Among the dead at the Defense Ministry complex, which also houses a military hospital, were soldiers and civilians, including seven foreigners  two aid workers from Germany, two doctors from Vietnam, two nurses from the Philippines and a nurse from India, according to Yemen's Supreme Security Commission, which issued the casualty figures. Among the Yemeni civilians killed were a doctor and a senior judge, it said.
     
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's media arm, al-Mallahem, claimed the attack early Friday morning on its Twitter account, saying it targeted the Defense Ministry building because it "accommodates drone control rooms and American experts." It said security headquarters used by the Americans in their war are "legitimate targets."
     
It was the deadliest attack in Sanaa since May 2012.
 
     
AP/REUTERS