Yeman
Anti-government protesters shout slogans while holding a defaced portrait of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh during a demonstration demanding for his ouster in Sanaa June 4, 2011. Saleh is on his way to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment for wounds suffered in an attack on his presidential palace on Friday, a Saudi official said. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Yemen's military blamed Al Qaeda for the rocket attack on the Presidential palace in Sanaa on Friday which killed seven people and left President Ali Abdullah Saleh injured. The statement was made as an internet posting on Sunday, reported Reuters.

According to analysts, the accusation by the Saleh government is an exaggeration of the Al Qaeda threat in Yemen to help it win global support in the fight against the militant group.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh arrived last night to Saudi Arabia to complete medical tests following the criminal and cowardly attack by members of al Qaeda and the criminal elements behind it, Yemeni military online newspaper, 26sep.net, said in the posting, stated the report.

Saleh has blamed the attacks on a powerful tribal federation that has been fighting his forces in Sanaa.

According to Yemeni sources, a growing number of people in Saleh's inner circle felt the attack might have been carried out by General Ali Mohsen who has broken from Saleh and sided with anti-government protesters.

Al-Qaeda