ISIL bomber kills 35 Yemeni soldiers

ADEN // A suicide bomber killed 35 Yemeni soldiers and wounded about 50 yesterday at a military camp in Aden.

ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack. The bomber 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.

Yemeni authorities have for months pressed a campaign against extremists in the south and east of the country.

ISIL and its rival Al Qaeda have taken advantage of a conflict between the government and the Houthi rebels, who control the capital Sanaa, to bolster their presence in the south.

The two groups have carried out a spate of attacks in Aden, Yemen’s second city and head- quarters of the internationally recognised government whose forces retook the port from the Houthis last year. Al Qaeda has long been the dominant force in Yemen, but experts said ISIL is seeking to supplant its rival.

In August, an ISIL militant crashed his explosives- laden car into an army recruiting centre in Aden, killing 71 people. On Monday, Yemeni authorities arrested eight suspected ISIL members implicated in attacks on security personnel in Aden.

A Saudi-led coalition, which includes the UAE, has since March 2015 supported loyalist forces and the government fighting the Houthis and their allies.