Three persons killed in an explosion in Sanaa

Three persons were killed and another 33 were wounded when a bomb went off on Wednesday in one of the markets in Sanaa. The Yemeni authorities fear that the explosion has a connection to the upholding of the penalty sentence against Zein al-Abidin al-Muhdar, commander of the Islamic Abeen Army - Aden, after he was convicted of kidnapping western tourists and killing four of them in December 1998.

The explosion took place in the popular al-Melh salt market in the old quarters of the Yemeni capital, where the police cordoned the area and started investigations in the incident.

Just a few hours before the explosion, the court of appeals in Abeen backed the decision taken by the preliminary court which issued a sentence of death against al-Muhdari (28), better known as Abu al-Hassan, and the other convicted man, Abdullah Saleh al-Juneidi.

After hearing the decision of the court from the judge, al-Muhdar said he considers his case as political. A source close to al-Muhdari's group said, "The new leadership of the organization of Aden-Abeen army will issue later on statements dealing with the decision of the court, which is a violation of the Islamic Sharia principles."

Eyewitnesses said that the Yemeni minister of interior and high-ranking officials of security have visited the area where today's explosion took place. Yemeni security sources said the explosion was due to an explosive or a hand grenade and that no persons have been arrested till now.