Yemen: Oil bombing foiled; 4 bombers, guard killed

Suicide bombers tried to strike two oil facilities in Yemen with explosives-packed cars, but authorities foiled the attacks and four bombers and a security guard were killed, the Interior Ministry said Friday.

The attempts came days before the country's presidential elections in which President Ali Abdullah Saleh faces a serious challenge for the first time since he became head of state in 1978.

They also came days after al-Qaida's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, issued a videotaped threat of attacks on the Persian Gulf, and on facilities he blamed for stealing Muslim oil.

AP