Daesh-claimed car bombing leaves 5 dead, 12 hurt in Yemen

ADEN/SANAA: Assailants detonated a powerful car bomb at dawn outside the Yemeni Finance Ministry offices in the southern city of Aden on Wednesday, killing at least five people including two guards and wounding 12, hospital officials and residents said. The attack was claimed by Daesh.

The witnesses and security officials said the early Wednesday blast completely destroyed the ministry building, damaged nearby houses and triggered fires in shops in the area. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution.

In a statement on its Amaq propaganda arm, Daesh claimed the “detonation of a parked explosive-laden vehicle” outside the ministry building, according to the US-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant websites.

Witnesses said the force of the blast shook the Khor Maksar area of the city, the temporary capital of the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, and causing severe damage to the sixstory building. The force of the blast also shattered windows of adjacent houses, they said.

Ambulances were seen racing to the scene, as sounds of gunfire were heard in the area, they said.

An official at the city’s main government-run Jumhouriya hospital said that two people have arrived dead to the hospital, while three others were in critical condition.

He said that medics have said they believe that more casualties were at the scene of the blast, but no one could reach them due to an exchange of gunfire that was taking place in the area.

Aden serves as the headquarters of the Yemeni government. The capital Sanaa and much of north of the country remain in the hands of rebels.

The power vacuum has allowed both Al-Qaeda and its rival Daesh to bolster their presence in Yemen, particularly in the government-held south.

Aden has seen an uptick in violence, with a series of attacks and assassinations claimed by the Daesh branch. The city is the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which is at war with Houthi rebels

With US-backing, the Saudi-led coalition has expanded its campaign in Yemen to battle the militants in the south, but they retain control of parts of the mountainous and desert interior.