Bomb-laden rebel drone kills 6 at military parade in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen — A drone carrying a bomb launched by Yemen’s Shiite rebels exploded over a military parade Thursday for the Saudi-led coalition, killing at least six people in a brazen attack threatening an uneasy U.N.-brokered peace in the Arab world’s poorest nation.

The Houthi attack at Al-Anad Air Base near the southern port city of Aden with a new drone variant also raised more questions about Iran’s alleged role in arming the rebels with drone and ballistic missile technology, something long denied by Tehran despite researchers and U.N. experts linking the weapons to the Islamic Republic.

The assault shocked the pro-government troops, who carried away the dead and wounded. All the victims were government forces, officials said.

Yemeni army spokesman Mohammed al-Naqib was speaking during the parade, with photos of Yemen’s president and Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia’s crown princes behind him, when a high-pitched whine drew his attention and others. A moment later, the drone exploded overhead, pelting him and others with shrapnel.

Among the wounded were several high-ranking members of Yemen’s military and intelligence, authorities said.

The Houthis immediately claimed the attack in the southern province of Lahj at a base where U.S. special forces once led their own drone war against Yemen’s al-Qaida branch.

Although the attack did not technically violate a cease-fire negotiated last month for the port of Hodeida, it was hoped that deal might eventually lead to a general de-escalation in the fighting.