A suspected Muslim extremist shot dead three American missionaries and seriously wounded a fourth at a Southern Baptist hospital in Yemen today.
The gunman was arrested after the attack at the complex in Jibla, 125 miles south of the capital San'a.
He entered the Jibla Baptist Hospital with a semi-automatic rifle and then opened fire, killing the three instantly as they held a meeting.
He then headed to the hospital's pharmacy and shot and badly wounded the pharmacist, Yemeni officials in Ibb province said.
The US-based Southern Baptist International Mission Board identified the dead as hospital director Mr William Koehn (60) from Texas, who had planned to retire next year; purchasing agent Ms Kathleen Gariety (53) of Wisconsin, and Dr Martha Myers (57) of Alabama.
The pharmacist was identified as Mr Donald Caswell (49) of Texas. The three dead were shot in the head, Yemeni security officials said. Mr Caswell was shot in the abdomen and hospital officials said he was in critical condition.
"We are devastated by this news," International Mission Board spokesman Mr Larry Cox said. "We are moving quickly to minister to family members located in Yemen as well as the United States."