Bodies of suicide bomb victims arrive in Spain

A Spanish Armed Forces plane today returned home the bodies of seven tourists who were killed in a suicide bombing in Yemen.

The plane, which landed at Torrejon de Ardoz military base, also carried five of the six injured in Monday’s attack.

A sixth injured, Maria Asuncion Vitorica, had to stay in a Yemeni hospital to undergo a second operation and is reported to be in serious condition, Spanish authorities said.

The seven Spaniards – three women and four men – were killed when a a suicide bomber ploughed his car into the middle of a convoy transporting the tourists while visiting a temple linked to the ancient Queen of Sheba. Two Yemenis also died in the attack.

Yemeni security officials said they had been warned about a possible al Qaida attack. They said al-Qaida had warned recently it would carry out attacks against Yemeni oil facilities, government institutions and foreign embassies.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has offered a 15 million riyal (€56,300) reward for any information about those responsible for the attack.