Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh
Saleh, who came to power in 1978, is under pressure from all sides to hand over power, but the U.S. and Sausio Arabia have warned that a sudden departure could lead the country to collapse, providing al-Qaida with more political space. In the last few months, the president has given confusing signals about his intentions and pulled back three times from signing a Gulf Arab peace initiative that would have seen him form an opposition-led Cabinet and hand power to his deputy while preparing for early parliamentary and presidential elections. He survived an assassination attempt in June and fled to Riyadh for treatment, only flying back unannounced in September after more than three months out of the country. Reuters

Yemen's 33-year president Ali Abdullah Saleh was injured in tribal-led attack on the presidential palace today.

Other senior officials were also wounded in the attack, according to Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemeni government spokesperson located in Washington D.C..

Presidential Palace in Yemen was attacked earlier, senior government officials were injured, no casualties & President was not killed, al-Basha wrote in a tweet.

According to al-Basha's Twitter feed, two projectile missiles hit a mosque in the presidential complex during Jumma, Islam's traditional communal prayers, held once a week Friday afternoon.

The extent and nature of the president's injuries are still unknown. Saleh administration representatives are to hold a televised press conference, dispelling rumors that the president died in the attack.

The senior government officials injured in the attack are also unknown, but according to al-Basha, a speaker in the Yemeni parliament was wounded. The missiles killed the mosque's Imam, or Muslim religious leader, and four guards.

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