Unknown gunmen attacked a care home for the elderly in Yemen's southern port city Aden on Friday, killing 16 people including four Indian nurses
Aden: Unknown gunmen attacked an old age home in Yemen's southern port city Aden on Friday, killing 16 people including four Indian nurses, security officials said.
The four gunmen stormed the retirement home in Aden's Sheikh Othman district, killing a guard and shooting randomly at residents.
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Dozens of stricken family members arrived at the site following the attack, witnesses said.
One official said the attackers were "extremists" and blamed the Islamic State group, which has been gaining ground in Aden in recent months.
But no group claimed responsibility for the attack, the first of its kind in Yemen, where the internationally-recognised government is grappling with an Iran-backed rebellion on one side and a growing jihadist presence on the other.
President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has declared Aden Yemen's temporary capital as Sanaa remains in the hands of the Huthi rebels and their allies since they seized it in September 2014.
The officials say that the gunmen raided the home for the elderly on Friday, separating the nuns from the others and then shooting them. They later handcuffed the elderly people and opened fire.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press.
The home is located in the Sheikh Osman district in Aden.
Aden descended into lawlessness after a Saudi-led coalition recaptured the city from Shia Houthi rebels last summer.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a wave of deadly attacks in Aden, including a suicide bombing that killed the governor and several assassination attempts on top officials.
On February 17, a suicide bombing claimed by IS killed 14 soldiers.
The rebels controlled Aden for months before government loyalists pushed them out in July.
Because of the unrest gripping Aden, Hadi himself and many senior officials in his government spend most of their time in Riyadh.
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