Officials: U.S. Embassy In Yemen Not Attacked

A Bahraini armored personnel vehicle reinforces U.S. Embassy security just outside of a gate to the building in Manama, Bahrain, on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013.
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Updated 6:20pm ET

ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni and U.S. officials say the U.S. Embassy in Yemen has not been attacked, after a loud blast was reported near the facility.

Mohammed al-Mawri, an official at the Yemeni Interior Minister’s office, said the late Monday explosion was fireworks from a wedding procession. A Yemeni Embassy spokesman in Washington, Mohammed al-Basha, said police detained individuals who lit them.

The State Department issued a statement saying it had no indication that reports of an explosion and sounds of gunfire near the U.S. Embassy in Yemen were accurate.

Two security officials in Yemen told The Associated Press by phone that a large explosion followed by what sounded like heavy gunfire was heard near the embassy. One said security had sealed off the area, a heavily secured part of the capital home to several other embassies.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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