The External Affairs Ministry said on Friday evening that only one Indian nurse was killed, and not four, in a terrorist attack at a retirement home in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, reported PTI. Earlier, reports had said that four Indian nuns were among the 16 people killed in the attack, a figure that was even confirmed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in a tweet. Swaraj had asked all Indians living in "danger zones" to return home. She also said the nurses had stayed back in Yemen after ignoring advisories issued by the government regarding the civil war in the country.

Security officials said there were at least four attackers who went from room-to-room in the retirement home and handcuffed the victims, before shooting them in the head. The home is run by Missionaries of Charity, which was established by Mother Teresa. Among the other victims were six Ethiopians, one Yemeni cook, and Yemeni guards, the Associated Press reported. At least 80 people lived in the retirement home.

Yemen is in the midst of a civil war. Shiite rebels control the northern region, which is under attack by a Saudi-led coalition. A globally-recognised government backed by Saudi Arabia controls the southern region. Affiliates of the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have taken advantage of the existing lawless situation and taken refuge in parts of the south.