Yemeni president in grave condition, government spokespeople downplayed wounds

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh may have suffered from more serious wounds than his administration let on, according to a disclosure by several U.S. officials to The New York Times, The Washington Post and Time.

The 33-year leader of the Gulf nation, currently hospitalized in Saudi Arabia, is suffering from internal bleeding in his skull and burns on 40 percent of his body, according to the Time report.

The reports confirm several allegations by pundits on the region that the Saleh administration was covering up the severity of the president's condition.

Yemeni government spokespeople reported that the Saleh suffered from light wounds and scratches on the head, after two missiles launched by tribal militants, loyal to Saleh's opposition, were launched into the presidential palace compound in the capital of Sana'a last Friday.

The missiles hit the presidential compound's mosque during Friday communal prayer services.

Government spokespeople announced that the president would appear on television hours after the attack to dispel rumors that he had been killed. Instead, he addressed the Yemeni people via audio and was immediately transported to a hospital in Saudi Arabia.