Suicide bomber suspected of exploding device in capital Sanaa kills at least 30

A car bomb exploded outside a police college in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Wednesday, killing about 30 people and wounding more than 50, police sources said, underscoring the country’s deteriorating security and a persistent al-Qaida threat.

Sectarian conflict after a 2011 popular uprising that led to a change of government and splits in the army has worsened since September when the Shia Muslim Houthi militia seized Sanaa.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), one of the group’s most active wings, had staged increasing numbers of attacks across Yemen before the Houthi advance and has carried out more bombings and shootings since.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday’s bombing. Al-Qaida has in the past claimed they were behind similar attacks.

The victims from the latest blast included students at the college and people waiting in line to enrol with the police, police sources said, as well as passers by.

The explosion was heard across the city and a large plume of smoke was visible near the college in a heavily congested part of the city near the central bank and the defence ministry.

“The situation is catastrophic. We arrived to find bodies piled on top of each other,” a paramedic at the scene told Reuters as ambulances took casualties away.

“We found the top part of one person yelling, while his bottom half was completely severed.”

A policeman told Reuters that another car had been passing as the bomb went off and was set on fire along with everyone inside.

The interior ministry said it was halting registration at the police college, which takes place every year, for a week.

Western and Gulf Arab countries fear that further instability could weaken the country’s government, giving al-Qaida more space to plot attacks outside Yemen’s borders. Yemen shares a long border with major oil exporter Saudi Arabia.

Yemen’s army has launched several concerted campaigns to dislodge al-Qaida with the help of US drone strikes, but the militants have proved capable of entrenching themselves in largely lawless parts of the country where it has sympathy from some Sunni tribes.