A suspected al-Qaeda suicide bomber killed seven Spanish tourists and two Yemenis in Marib, Yemen on Monday, leading to an increase in security around possible targets in the country.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said seven Spanish tourists lost their lives Monday morning in Yemen after a suicide attack on the Spaniards’ convoy. The remains of three men and four women, as well as several wounded survivors will be taken back to Spain, Yemeni and Spanish officials said.

The attack occurred near an archaeological site. According to Yemeni sources, a Yemeni tour guide and driver were killed. Two other Yemenis were injured. The identities of the victims have not been confirmed yet but DNA tests are being conducted.

One of the injured Spanish citizens was in serious condition, Moratinos said, and had been taken, along with the other injured or deceased, to hospital centre in the Yemeni capital Sana'a.

Spanish Tourism Minister Joan Clos will leave for Yemen on board a plane which would bring the bodies and injured victims back home.

The Yemeni Interior Ministry has issued a statement saying: “Four cars carrying 13 Spanish tourists were hit in a cowardly car bomb terrorist attack driven by a suicide terrorist.

“Initial information shows that the al-Qaeda organization was behind this cowardly terrorist attack,” the statement read.

While the Spanish ambassador to Yemen has reportedly traveled to the site of the attack, the Basque travel agency that organized the tourists' visit to Yemen said its representative was unable to gain access to the area.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh spoke to Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero today and expressed his condolences for the loss of the Spanish citizens.

Moratinos said the Yemeni government views the attack with the “clearest condemnation.” King Juan Carlos of Spain said he felt “indignation, condemnation and repulsion.”

The Spanish tourists were reportedly returning from the Temple of Saba, which they had visited, and were accompanied by Yemeni security forces. The Spanish government had issued a warning about the danger of traveling to Yemen.