70 killed in massive blast in Yemen

PanARMENIAN.Net - A massive blast Monday, March 28, at an ammunition plant in southern Yemen looted by Al-Qaeda killed at least 70 people, as tracts of the south slip out of Sanaa's control in the thick of an anti-regime revolt.

"The death toll of the explosion has gone up to 70 people," said local government official Mohsen Salem after the blast at the factory near the city of Jaar in the restive province of Abyan, a stronghold of Al-Qaeda.

A security official said the explosion came as dozens of residents were inside the factory helping themselves to whatever ammunition was left after Sunday's raid by suspected Al-Qaeda fighters. It remained unclear if the cause was accidental or the result of a booby-trap.

Yemen is a country where carrying firearms is a national passion and guns outnumber the 24-million population by more than two to one.

Around 30 armed and hooded gunmen looted the factory on Sunday and made off in four vehicles with cases of weapons, witnesses said.

The incident, two months into a nationwide revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, came as a security official said suspected Al-Qaeda militants had seized control of Jaar and its surrounding villages, AFP reports.