IS and Al-Qaeda have carried out a spate of attacks in Aden, headquarters of Yemen’s internationally recognised government since allied fighters retook the port city from the rebels last year -AFP file photo
ADEN: A suicide bomber killed 20 soldiers and wounded around 30 more on Saturday at a military camp in Yemen’s southern city of Aden, where jihadists are active, a military source said.
The attacker detonated his explosives belt as hundreds of troops gathered to receive their monthly pay at the barracks in Al-Sawlaban near the city’s international airport, the source said.
Security sources said earlier that a bomb planted by unknown individuals had been behind the deadly explosion.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Yemeni authorities have for months pressed a campaign against jihadists who remain active in the south and east of the war-torn country.
The Islamic State group and its jihadist rival Al-Qaeda have taken advantage of a conflict between the government and the Huthi rebels, who control the capital Sanaa, to bolster their presence across much of the south.
IS and Al-Qaeda have carried out a spate of attacks in Aden, headquarters of Yemen’s internationally recognised government since allied fighters retook the port city from the rebels last year.
An IS militant rammed his explosives-laden car into an army recruiting centre in Aden in August, killing 71 people in the deadliest jihadist attack on the city in over a year.
On Monday, Yemeni authorities arrested eight suspected IS jihadists implicated in a spate of attacks targeting security personnel in the city this year.
A Saudi-led coalition has since March 2015 supported loyalist forces fighting the rebels. -AFP