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Yemen defense minister escapes deadly car bombing

A police trooper shouts at the scene of a car bomb blast in Sanaa, Yemen, on Sept. 11, 2012. A bomb targeting Yemeni Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Muhammad Nasir Ahmad exploded outside the prime minister's office in Sanaa but the minister was safe, government sources said.
A police trooper shouts at the scene of a car bomb blast in Sanaa, Yemen, on Sept. 11, 2012. A bomb targeting Yemeni Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Muhammad Nasir Ahmad exploded outside the prime minister's office in Sanaa but the minister was safe, government sources said.Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Reuters reports Yemen's defense minister escaped an assassination attempt on Tuesday but at least 12 people died in the car bombing that followed the killing of al-Qaida's second-in-command in the country, government officials said.

Witnesses said the blast happened as Maj. Gen. Muhammad Nasir Ahmad's motorcade left the prime minister's office in Sanaa after a cabinet meeting. Interior Minister Abdul Qader Qahtan told state television that seven security guards and five civilians were killed and 12 other people were wounded. Read the full story.

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