KOCHI: Four Indian nuns were among 16 people killed in strife-torn Yemen's Aden city on Friday when a group of terrorists stormed an old-age home run by Kolkata-based Missionaries of Charity, handcuffed the victims before shooting them in the head.
According to reports reaching here, though there was suspicion that Malayalis were among the victims, the state government had not received any official information in this regard till late Friday night. The government sources, however, said Malayali nuns were working in the Home earlier.
A priest from Ramapuram in Pala, identified as Tom Kuzhinal, who is said to be residing in the same locality, is reportedly missing. “We are trying to get in touch with the priest as well as other embassy officials in the Yemen," said an official.
The terrorists, numbering between 2 and 4, asked the guard to open the gate of the elderly home on the pretext of visiting their mothers.
On entering inside, they first shot dead the gate keeper and then started shooting randomly on the inmates, officials in India's camp office in Djibouti said. They said the attack at the care home in Sheikh Othman District in Aden took place at around 1230 hours, killing at least 16 persons, including four Indian nuns.
"The assailants escaped soon after the attack. The area has been cordoned off and the police are investigating the incident," the officials said. In New Delhi, MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said government was trying to find out details of the Indians killed in the attack. "We are trying to ascertain the details of the Indian victims," he said.
In the wake of escalation of violence, Indian Embassy in Yemen's capital Sana'a was closed last year and all its functions were carried out from a camp office in Djibouti, a country neighbouring Yemen and across the Red Sea. Al-Qaeda and ISIS have been stepping up attacks in Aden.
Two gunmen surrounded the home while another four fighters entered the building, an AFP report quoted witnesses and officials. They said the gunmen moved from room-to-room, handcuffing the victims before shooting them in the head. One nun who survived and was rescued by locals said that she hid inside a fridge in a store room after hearing a Yemeni guard shouting "run, run."
There are around 80 residents living at the home, which is run by Missionaries of Charity, an organisation established by Mother Teresa. Missionaries of Charity nuns also came under attack in Yemen in 1998 when gunmen killed three nuns in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida.
