Official: Explosion near Italian embassy in Yemen

Two mortar shells fired Wednesday in Yemen's capital exploded outside the customs authority and near the Italian embassy, an Interior Ministry official said.

Italian Ambassador Mario Boffo told an Italian television station that the explosion caused no damage or injuries inside the embassy. The Interior Ministry also said no casualties were reported.

"We heard two strong explosions one after the other from the offices of customs authorities," Boffo told Sky Tg 24 television. He said the customs office was about 500 yards away from the embassy and his residence.

An unidentified Interior Ministry official told Yemen's state news agency the customs authority in San'a appeared to be the target of the attack by unknown assailants. The shells landed in the courtyard outside the customs building.

Yemen is a key U.S. ally in the Middle East but also the ancestral homeland of Osama bin Laden, and it has been the site of violence against foreigners before.

Earlier this month, three projectiles hit a foreigners' housing complex in San'a but caused no injuries. The complex is in an upscale neighborhood that also houses U.N. buildings.

On March 20, three mortars missed the U.S. Embassy and crashed into a high school for girls nearby, killing a security guard.

The United Nations has since put up blast walls around its main headquarters and closed some of its offices in Yemen because of security concerns, officials have said.

The American Embassy also has issued a message urging citizens to exercise caution in areas of San'a where foreign companies have offices.

Al-Qaida has an active presence in Yemen despite government efforts to destroy it. The group was blamed for the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole destroyer in the Yemeni port of Aden that killed 17 American sailors.

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