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People carry the bodies of Abdul Jalil Mohammed Noman Noman and his wife Asma Ali Mohamed Noman, two of the victims of a bombing at the Ministry of Defence compound during a funeral in Sanaa December 6, 2013. An al Qaeda-linked group has claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack on Yemen's defence ministry that killed at least 52 people, the country's worst militant assault in 18 months. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY) Image Credit: REUTERS

Aden: Yemeni military investigators say 12 militants, mostly Saudi nationals, were responsible for a brazen attack on the Defence Ministry’s complex in the capital.

The committee led by Yemen’s Chief of Staff Gen Ahmad Al Ashwal put out a report on Friday that set the death toll at 56, with another 215 wounded.

It described Thursday’s attack as a two-stage operation, in which attackers disguised in military uniform drove a car packed with explosives into the complex, blew it up, then split into two groups. One swept through a military hospital while the second group attacked a laboratory. Both killed everyone they found.

A copy of the report was obtained by The Associated Press.

Officials earlier said 11 militants were killed. It was not clear if the 12th attacker was captured or escaped.