Bodies of 7 Spanish tourists killed in bombing arrive in Spain

A Spanish Armed Forces plane on Wednesday brought home the bodies of seven tourists killed in a suicide bombing in Yemen, and five of the injured.

A sixth Spaniard injured in Monday's attack, Maria Asuncion Vitorica, remained in a Yemeni hospital to undergo a second operation and was reported to be in serious condition, Spanish authorities said.

Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos was on the runway to meet the plane when it arrived just after dawn Wednesday.

Moratinos greeted three tourists who could walk _ two women and a man, all wearing bandages _ as they came down the aircraft steps. Two others were brought down by medical services.

A motorcade of hearses removed the coffins from the air base.

Crown Prince Felipe and his wife, Princess Letizia, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, later visited grieving relatives at a hotel in downtown Madrid.

Three Spanish women and four men were killed when a suicide bomber plowed his car into a convoy transporting the tourists who were visiting a temple linked to the ancient Queen of Sheba. Two Yemenis also died in the attack.

Yemeni security officials said Tuesday that they had been warned about a possible al-Qaida attack, but said they did not think it would include the suicide bombing. They said al-Qaida had warned recently it would carry out attacks against Yemeni oil facilities, government institutions and foreign embassies.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh offered a 15 million riyal (US$76,000, euro56,000) reward for any information about those responsible for the attack.

Spain's foreign minister said Yemen believed the attack was directed against the country's tourism sector and not against Spain.

A second contingent of specialist police would be flying out to Yemen in the next few days to help local officers with investigations. Another plane was expected to fly to Yemen on Wednesday with a Spanish surgeon and relatives of the tourist who remained hospitalized in Yemen.

The 13 Spaniards had gone to Yemen on June 30 to spend several weeks as part of package tour organized by a Basque travel agency.

Spain has considered tourism in Yemen dangerous for some time. In April, the Foreign Ministry advised travelers that there was a risk of terrorist action and emphasized that the region of Marib, where the bombing occurred, should only be visited in the company of a local guide and a military escort.

Less than two weeks ago, the U.S. Embassy in Yemen issued a warning to Americans to avoid the area, which until recent years was rarely visited by tourists because of frequent kidnappings of foreigners.

Monday's was the second suspected Islamic terrorist attack to kill Spaniards in recent days. On June 24, six Spanish soldiers serving with the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon were killed in a bombing.