Yemeni Kills Self After Slaying American, 2 Others

SANA, Yemen —  A Yemeni man shot four oil company co-workers Tuesday -- killing an American, a Canadian and another Yemeni -- before shooting himself dead, the Interior Ministry said. A second Canadian was wounded.

Yemen has long been a hotbed for terrorists, but in this case the assailant may have suffered from depression, officials said. Witnesses reported that during the attack he yelled he was taking revenge “against those who were filing reports about him,” the ministry statement said.

The attack occurred in an oil field in the oil-rich northern province of Marib, east of Sana, the Yemeni capital, the statement said.

A statement by Hunt Oil Co., which supervises the oil rig, said the four victims worked at a rig owned by Nabors Drilling.

The American victim was a Hunt Oil Co. superintendent, while the two Canadians and the Yemeni man, in addition to the alleged killer, were Nabors employees, the Hunt statement said. The names of the American and Canadians were not released, pending notification of next of kin. The Yemeni victim was identified as Nazem Kabati.

The U.S. Embassy in Sana called for a Yemeni investigation and said U.S. law enforcement personnel would help.

The Yemeni Interior Ministry statement, quoting an unidentified official, said the alleged assailant, identified as Naji Abdullah Kumaim, had worked for Nabors for seven years.

“According to testimony from his co-workers, the assailant was suffering from bouts of depression,” the statement said. “He was not known to have any previous political affiliations and the motives of the crime are believed to be criminal and personal.”