Yemen leader Ali Abdullah Saleh leaves hospital

President discharged from Saudi hospital two months after being severely wounded in attack on palace in Sana'a
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Ali Abdullah Saleh in Riyadh on 10 July. Yemen's president has left hospital in the Saudi capital and is recuperating in the city. Photograph: EPA

The president of Yemen has left a hospital in Saudi Arabia, more than two months after being severely wounded in an attack on his palace compound in Sana'a.

A government official said Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was badly burned in the attack on 3 June, was discharged in Riyadh on Saturday night and moved to a residence in the city owned by the Saudi royal family to recuperate.

"The president is still under medical supervision," the unnamed official said on Sunday. "We don't know yet when he will return to the country, but soon, God willing."

Saleh said in July during his only public appearance since the attack that he had undergone eight operations. His prolonged absence from the public eye fuelled speculation about the severity of his injuries and whether they would prevent him from returning to Yemen.

Eleven bodyguards were killed in the attack and five senior officials worshipping with Saleh were seriously wounded. The government initially blamed the blast on anti-government fighters, and later on al-Qaida.

Saleh's absence has only added to the turmoil in Yemen, where more than six months of mass protests calling for the removal of the president have battered the economy and heightened security fears.

In recent months the US has distanced itself from Saleh, once considered a key ally in fighting Yemen's active al-Qaida branch. Many fear the terrorist group could seek to exploit the instability in Yemen and expand operations there.