SANAA, 31 January 2006 — Thirteen people were injured when a car loaded with gunpowder blew up at a marketplace in central Yemen yesterday, police said.
They said the blast caused a fire in ten shops in the crowded central market of the Yarim town, some 130 km south of Sanaa.
The car was on its way to deliver the gunpowder to a depot owned by an arms dealer, they said. It was not clear what caused the gunpowder to ignite.
Among the injured were five children, the official Saba news agency said. Six of the injured, including two children, suffered from severe burns.
Gunpowder and other explosives are sold freely at markets in Yemen, a largely tribal society where weapons are carried openly by men.
