In a rare public apology, the military leader of al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen has said that one of his fighters disobeyed orders and attacked a hospital attached to the defence ministry during a December assault that killed 52 people.
Qassim al-Rimi, commander of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, said in a video posted on the Internet that the attackers were warned in advance not to enter the hospital within the complex, nor a place for prayer there.