SANAA: A group of South Korean government officials and relatives of victims of a bombing in Yemen narrowly escaped an attack yesterday.

The attack took place in front of the Al-Dailami military base as the convoy was heading to Sanaa International Airport. The bomber, who was killed in the attack, had been waiting outside the base’s gate, police officials said.

There were no other casualties in the attack, the latest in a spate of attacks against foreign targets in Yemen, but South Korea issued a new warning to its nationals.

Police said the attacker apparently missed his target by triggering his explosive belt seconds after the convoy had passed.

Yemen’s Interior Ministry confirmed in a brief statement that the Korean convoy was the target of the attack. “The attack did not cause any casualties, and the bomber’s body was torn to small pieces,” the statement said, adding that police have initiated an investigation to identify the attacker.

Security officials at the site said they found a piece of the bomber’s identity card, showing that he was a 20-year-old student. “We have found his address, and the investigation will start from there,” one official said.

The South Korean occupants of the convoy consisted of four officials and three relatives of victims who died on Sunday, said a Foreign Ministry official in Seoul.

Sunday’s bombing killed four Korean tourists and a Yemeni tour guide in southeastern Hadramaut province.

That incident occurred as a three-car convoy carrying nine Korean tourists traveled an isolated road leading to a mountain overlooking the historic city of Shibam, 900 km east of Sanaa.

A Yemeni news website said on Tuesday the bomber had asked for a picture with the tourists on the hill overlooking Shibam shortly before detonating his explosives belt.

The town is famous for its multi-storey mud-brick merchants’ houses, which date back to the 16th century and have earned Shibam a UNESCO world heritage listing and the nickname of the “Manhattan of the Desert.”