Spanish tourist wounded in Yemen may be brain dead

SANAA, July 12 (Reuters) A Spanish woman wounded in an attack that killed seven Spanish tourists in Yemen last week may be brain dead, a Yemeni hospital official said today.

''Her condition is very bad and she is not responding to any stimuli,'' the official at al-Thawra Hospital told Reuters.

''There is no brain activity.'' The woman's relatives were taking steps to move her to Spain, said the official, who asked not to be identified.

Yemen has said its security forces killed an Egyptian who helped mastermind the suicide car bomb attack last Monday that killed the Spanish tourists and two Yemenis at the Queen of Sheba Temple in Marib, about 150 km east of the capital Sanaa.

Yemen, which joined the US-led war on terrorism after al Qaeda's September. 11, 2001 attacks on US cities, has offered a 75,500 dollars reward for information leading to the capture of militants behind the attack.

Security sources have said that al Qaeda earlier issued a statement demanding the release of some of its members jailed in Yemen -- which has been battling Islamist militants for years -- and threatening unspecified action.

Yemen, the ancestral home of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is viewed in the West as a haven for Islamist militants.

It has seen several major bombings.

One of the poorest countries outside Africa, Yemen has been trying to encourage tourists put off by kidnappings and bombings and boost foreign investment as its oil resources dwindle.

REUTERS AM RK2153