Yemen attack: 4 Indian nuns of 'Missionaries of Charity' among 16 dead; Modi govt veriying reports

Unknown gunmen attacked a care home for the elderly in Yemen`s southern port city Aden on Friday, killing 17 people including four Indian nurses.

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday that they are ascertaining reports of Indians being killed in an attack on an old age home in Yemen`s southern port city Aden on Friday.

"We have seen the reports and are trying to ascertain the details," MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup told the media.

Unknown gunmen attacked a care home for the elderly in Yemen today, killing 17 people including four Indian nurses, a security official said.

The home was run by Christian nurses and the Missionaries of Charity, Xinhua news agency reported.

A group of well-armed gunmen stormed the home in Sheikh Othman district and opened random fire after killing the building`s guards, a security official said.

Seventeen people were killed, including four Indian nurses working there, the source said.

A senior official of Aden`s local government told Xinhua that suspected gunmen of the Yemen-based affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) group were behind the terrorist attack.

Aden, Yemen`s temporary capital, has been witnessing chaos and lawlessness during the past weeks, resulting in the assassination of Aden`s former governor, several high-ranking security officers and judges.

The turbulent and complicated security situation in Aden and neighbouring southern provinces is one of the biggest challenges for the Saudi-led Arab coalition forces operating in Aden.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition has dispatched thousands of soldiers from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Sudan and Bahrain into five anti-Houthi southern provinces to support and train local Yemeni security forces.

Yemen has been gripped by one of the most active regional al Qaeda insurgencies in the Middle East and the affiliate of the IS.

The situation in the country has deteriorated since war broke out between the Shia Houthi group, supported by former president Ali Abdullash Saleh, and the government backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition.

(With Agency inputs)