World / Yemen Blast at Yemen Weapons Factory Kills 78 Devastating explosion signals deepening chaos By Polly Davis Doig, Newser Staff Posted Mar 28, 2011 3:04 PM CDT Copied Yemeni injured in a blast at a munitions factory lies in a hospital bed in Abyan, Yemen, Monday, March 28, 2011. A powerful blast killed scores of people after the facility was briefly taken over by Islamic militants. (AP Photo) The seizure of a munitions factory yesterday by Yemen militants turned tragic today when looters set off an accidental explosion, killing at least 78. With President Ali Abdullah Saleh clinging to power and battling protesters, Islamist militants are getting increasingly aggressive, reports the AP, and today's explosion only served to underscore the deepening chaos in the nation. (More Yemen stories.) Report an error