almotamar.net - Twelve terrorists, mostly Saudi nationals, carried out Thursday massive and coordinated attack on the Defense Ministry Complex that claimed the lives of 56 people and injured over 215 others, a special Yemeni probe revealed on Friday.

The probe, conducted by a special committee, pointed out that security forces have identified the bodies of the attackers. It stated that the perpetrators have stormed the complex through the gate of an attached hospital at 08:50 a.m. Thursday.

Once they entered the complex, the attackers, some on foot and others were driving Hilux pickup car, started shooting on every moving object to kill guards, patients, doctors, nurses and others, it said.

It went on to say that the terrorists who were driving Hilux car, which was laden with about 500 kilograms of the highly explosive material of TNT, managed to go deep into the complex after killing the guards of the gate, but a metal barrier barred them from reaching their main target, the Army chief of staff premises.

The attackers, then, blew off the Hilux car nearly 20 meters away from the gate of the hospital.
The powerful car bombing left scores of causalities and caused the huge damage to several buildings and vehicles inside the complex. A number of the attackers were also killed in the blast.

The probe added that the remaining number of terrorists divided in two separate groups and moved in two different directions before they start opening fire indiscriminately at everybody in the hospital, its laboratory and outpatient clinics. They also set a blaze a number of vehicles.

It also disclosed that one of the two groups managed to reach a building near the eastern gate and used it as shelter as well as springboard to attack special forces that had arrived at the scene.

The anti-terrorist special forces backed by military police, presidential guards, 314 Armored Unit have managed to evacuate the complex, impose a siege on the terrorist elements on both sides before attacking and finishing them off.

It concluded that special forces have completed cleared the complex of terrorist elements at 4:30 a.m. Friday.