A Yemeni military officer was seriously wounded when explosives strapped to a donkey went off near his home in southern Yemen, residents and witnesses said on Wednesday.
"The donkey bomb exploded when the officer Mansour al-Salami left his home on his way to work," a witness to Tuesday's incident in al-Dala'a, 155 miles south of the capital Sanaa, told Reuters."The explosives were apparently put under the saddle of the donkey, whose body was scattered into pieces as a result," he added.
A soldier who was with the officer was also slightly wounded. Both were taken to hospital in Aden for treatment.
The motive for the explosion was not clear and official security sources declined comment.
The donkey bomb was the first of its kind in the poor Arab state, which has seen a spate of bombings in recent months.
Police have detained dozens of suspects, mainly activists from opposition groups, in connection with recent blasts.