2 blasts rock Yemen's Hadhramaut

SANAA (AA) – Two blasts, including one caused by a booby-trapped car, on Thursday rocked a security headquarters and the Republican Palace in Yemen's southern Hadhramaut province, a security source said. He told Anadolu Agency that the two blasts took place in Al-Mukalla City, noting that one of the two blasts was caused by a booby-trapped car, while the other was caused by a rocket-propelled grenade. The source said the blasts were followed by clashes between Yemeni security men and suspected Al-Qaeda militants. He described the magnitude of the blasts as "large", saying that militants can be seen along the coastal road in Al-Mukalla. The source referred to the presence of a human toll from the two explosions, but he failed to mention this toll in detail.
The two explosions coincided with a raid carried out by unknown militants on the private Yemen International Bank in the same city, according to the source.
He did not say, however, whether the militants succeeded in seizing money from the bank.
Yemen has been dogged by turmoil since pro-democracy protests forced autocratic president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down in 2012 after 33 years in power.
By Maarib al-Ward