ADEN: Four nuns, including an Indian, were among 16 killed in Aden by terrorists who stormed an elderly care home run by Kolkata-based Missionaries of Charity. Indian officials said terrorists struck at the home in Sheikh Othman district.
“We have learned that the terrorists, numbering between two and four, asked the guards to open the gate on the pretext of visiting their mothers. On entering, they shot dead the guard and opened fire on the inmates. The assailants escaped soon after the attack,” an official said. Indian ministry of external affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, “We are trying to ascertain the details of the victims.”
A report said that two gunmen surrounded the elderly care home while four others entered the building. The gunmen moved from room to room, handcuffing the victims before shooting them in the head. Besides the nuns, six Ethiopians, a Yemeni cook and guards were among those killed. A nun survived and was rescued by locals. She hid inside a fridge in a store room after she heard a guard shout “run run”. “The area has been cordoned off and police are investigating the incident,” an Indian official said.
An Indian Catholic priest has gone missing since the attack. External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj announced that Father Tom Uzhunnalil had been abducted. “Our camp office in Djibouti is trying to ascertain the whereabouts of Father Tom so that we can secure his release,” Swaraj said in Twitter post. Reports suggest the 56 year old priest was handcuffed before driven away to an undisclosed destination.
While no terrorist outfit has claimed the attack, Yemeni authorities have pointed their fingers at the IS. “We are aware that no group has claimed the attack... but information points to... Daesh,” said a security official.
