Indian nun killed in Yemen attack

4 nuns, 12 others died in terror strike on Aden

 A terrorist attack on a retirement home at the port town of Yemen in Aden left four nuns of the Missionaries of Charity (MoC) dead, along with 12 others on Friday evening.

One of the slain nuns has been identified as Indian citizen, according to reports by the Vatican Radio and other Catholic news agencies. The  External Affairs Ministry late on Friday night said only one Indian nurse was killed and not four in a terrorist attack in strife-torn Yemen’s Aden city.

While Sunita Kumar, MoC spokesperson in Kolkata, where the Catholic order’s global headquarters is situated, confirmed the report of deaths, but details were sketchy till late in the evening.

The Vatican Radio reported that of the four nuns killed, one was from India, one from Kenya and two from Rwanda. “Of the four nurses killed in Yemen, only one is Indian named Cecilia Minz,” External Affairs Ministry Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

According to reports by the Vatican Radio and leading Catholic news agency, Fides, four unidentified gunmen claimed to have come to meet their mother, but when allowed entry, they opened fire using assault rifles.

One of the nuns at the home survived when she hid inside a refrigerator in the store room and was later rescued by locals, a police officer told Vatican Radio.  Local authorities said that although the motive of the gunmen was not immediately known and no group had claimed responsibility, the hands an al-Qaeda affiliate is suspected to be behind the attack. The Vatican Radio informed that the retirement home run by MoC had around 80 residents.