A ruling party official says Yemen's president plans to return home in days after surviving an attack on his palace.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh was badly wounded but official Yasser al-Yamani said Friday that the embattled leader plans to return in days.

That's despite protesters taking to the streets to keep up the pressure, and international pressure for him to formally hand over power to a transitional government.

Yemen's leader of nearly 33 years has held onto power in the face of massive protests demanding his ouster since February.

Yemen is home to one of the most active al-Qaida branches, which has been linked to the plot to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner in December 2009.