Yemen 's defense minister escaped an assassination attempt Tuesday when a suicide bomber attacked his convoy , the Yemeni government said . A bomb-laden vehicle exploded at 11 a.m. , targeting Gen. Mohammed Nasser Ahmed 's convoy in Tawahi , Aden , along Yemen 's southern coast , the Defense Ministry said . The bomber was killed . Witnesses said two explosions were heard and that clashes followed for 10 minutes . An Interior Ministry source , citing the suicide bombing and the clashes , said the attack bears the hallmarks of al Qaeda . Sultan Khaled , a witness , said , `` The explosions were powerful and the city saw hundreds of troops spreading quickly . '' Within minutes of the attack , government troops had blocked all entrances into Aden and set up checkpoints . In late August , senior security officials in Abyan province said Ahmed survived an assassination attempt when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle , killing two of his guards . But an official in the defense minister 's office at the time denied that the convoy was attacked . A senior official in Abyan said then that the ministry may have denied that attack because it did not want Abyan to be seen as outside complete government control . Tuesday 's attack came as anti-government protests in Yemen continued to attract huge crowds . President Ali Abdullah Saleh returned Friday from three months in Saudi Arabia , where he received medical treatment following an assassination attempt in June . Tens of thousands took to the streets of Yemen 's capital , Sanaa , on Monday . `` We are escalating , and soon we will march directly towards the presidential palace , '' said Tawakul Karman , a prominent revolutionist . `` The will of the people is stronger today , and Saleh is already part of the past . '' But at the United Nations in New York , Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu-Bark Al-Qirbi accused opposition powers on Tuesday of using the `` tidal wave of change '' that has swept across much of the Arab world this year `` to prevent Yemen from achieving democratic change through elections . '' Al-Qirbi cited unbridled population growth , poverty , drought and scarcity of water and oil -- which had been a primary source of income -- for the nation 's high rates of youth unemployment . He cited the opposition 's refusal to endorse Saleh 's 2006 re-election , after 27 years in power , as `` the main reason for the upheaval that is taking place in Yemen . '' In a televised address Sunday , Saleh blamed `` terrorists '' for recent deadly violence at anti-government protests . The motive of the `` criminal terrorists , '' he said , is `` to seize power and to steal the wealth of the country and to undermine stability . '' Protesters insisted that Saleh was trying to buy himself more time in office with the remarks . Scores of protesters have been reported killed by Yemeni forces in protests in recent days . Saleh said his vice president has the authority to sign a proposal by the Gulf Cooperation Council that would result in early presidential elections . The United States has called on Yemen to follow the council 's proposal . The United States , the United Nations and the European Union have called on Yemen to halt the violence and called on both sides to establish a peaceful transfer of power .
The attack bears the hallmarks of al Qaeda , an Interior Ministry source says . Tuesday 's attack came as anti-government protests in Yemen continue to attract huge crowds . Another such attempt was made in August , senior security officials in Abyan province said then . The defense minister 's office had denied the August report .