Aden attack: Priest still missing, narrow escape for nun

Thiruvananthapuram, March 5  There is no news of the Catholic priest from Kerala who was taken away by unidentified gunmen following Friday's attack on a care home of the elderly in Yemen's Aden, run by the Missionaries of Charity, that left four nuns dead, said an aide of Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

Speaking to IANS, the official who is keeping in touch with Keralites in Yemen said the mother superior of the home, Sister Sally, had a narrow escape when the gunmen opened fire at the care home.

"The priest Tom Kuzhuvennal, who hails from Kottayam district, has been taken away by these unidentified gunmen who opened fire, while Sally was moved to a safe place in the convent by the local people there after hearing the gun shots," said the official.

"We are in close touch with our people in Yemen who are closely following the developments there," added the official.

In the gunfire, four nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, including one from India, were killed. The Indian nun has been identified as Sister M. Anseleme, 57, from Jharkhand. Of the other three nuns, two were from Rwanda and another from Kenya.

The home, set up by Mother Teresa in 1992, houses 61 elderly destitutes and the Kerala priest had come to the home from an insecure place in Yemen.

News reports indicate that these unidentified gunmen belonged to the Yemen-based affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) group.