Dead, wounded in Sanaa suicide car bombing: Yemen security

A suicide car bombing at the defence ministry in the heart of Sanaa left dead and wounded on Thursday, AFP reports according to Yemeni security sources said."A car bomb driven by a suicide bomber tried to force its way into the western entrance of the ministry complex," a security official told AFP."It was followed by another car whose occupants opened fire at the complex of buildings," he said."There are dead and wounded," another security source said after a strong explosion was heard across the capital, without giving any immediate figures.Plumes of smoke billowed across the complex, situated on the edge of the Baba al-Yaman neighbourhood, and gunfire was heard.The bombing comes at a time when Yemen is experiencing a surge of violence, and follows a spate of hit-and-run attacks on military and other officials in Sanaa by militants on motorbikes.The attacks in the capital and in the country's south have been blamed on Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which Washington regards as the jihadist network's most dangerous branch.Yemen has been going through a difficult political transition since veteran president Ali Abdullah Saleh was ousted in February 2012 after a year of deadly protests against his 33-year rule.