Tourists Feared Among Dead in Yemen Blast

At least five people were killed in a car bombing today at a tourist site in Yemen's northeastern province of Mareb, police said.

Yemeni security sources said the attack could be the work of al-Qaida. The blast came after the terror group issued a statement demanding the release of militants jailed in Yemen, and warned of unspecified actions.

Officials said the explosion, at an ancient temple, also wounded seven others. Some of the people killed are believed to have been tourists, mostly from Spain, according to the Associated Press.

In April, the US state department cautioned American citizens against traveling to Yemen.

"The security threat level remains high due to terrorist activities in Yemen," the state department said a travel advisory.

Last December, a lone gunman opened fire outside the US embassy compound during the early morning hours.

In February last year, 23 convicts including known associates of al-Qaida escaped from a high-security prison in the capital, Sanaa.

Among those who escaped were individuals imprisoned for their roles in the bombing of the US navy destroyer USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden in 2000, which killed 17 sailors, and the 2002 attack on the French oil tanker Limburg.

Since the start of this year, the Yemeni government has been battling al-Houthi rebels in and around the northern governorate of Saada. While foreigners have not been targeted, hundreds of soldiers and civilians have been killed in the violence.

Located at the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula, Yemen has a weak central government, armed tribal groups in outlying areas, and porous borders, making it fertile ground for terrorists.

Although the state department calls Yemen an important partner in the campaign against terrorism, experts say that terrorists live in Yemen, sometimes with government approval. Yemen-based corporations are thought to help fund the al-Qaida network.