Suicide bombing targets UAE-trained Yemeni troops
A suicide bomber hit Yemeni troops trained by the UAE in Aden yesterday, killing 10 and injuring 30, in an attack claimed by ISIL.
The bombing in the north of the port city hit an army mess hall serving the Security Belt brigade, who are supported by the UAE.
“The ISIL suicide bomber blew up his car on Tuesday in a supply headquarters affiliated with the Security Belt forces in Abdulaziz Street in Al Mansoura,” an Aden police source told The National.
“More than 10 were killed, the majority of them are civilians, and more than 30 were injured in the ISIL attack.”
ISIL claimed responsibility on its news agency Amaq, saying that the suicide car bomb was driven by Hamza Al Muhajir.
Security Belt forces led an intensive operation last week to drive Al Qaeda and ISIL from their last stronghold in Al Mahfad, Abyan province, east of Aden.
The bomb went off at the gate of the supply headquarters, causing substantial damage to dozens of vehicles and buildings.
A young boy walking along the street was also killed, witnesses said, and several cars parked nearby were severely damaged.
Aden is the interim base for the Yemeni government, which is battling Iran-backed Houthi rebels who control the capital Sanaa and much of the north.
Al Qaeda and ISIL have claimed attacks in the city in recent years. On February 24, twin ISIL suicide bombings hit the base of an Aden counter-terrorism unit, killing five people including a child.
This week, United States Secretary of Defence James Mattis visited Sultan Qaboos of Oman and discussed the war in Yemen, where an Arab coalition is fighting Houthi rebels on behalf of the internationally recognised government of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.
In March 2015, the member states of the GCC, with the exception of Oman, issued a statement saying they would intervene in the war at Mr Hadi’s government’s request.
The government established its headquarters in Aden, Yemen’s second city, located near the approach to the Red Sea, after the rebels forced it out of the capital.
In January, Aden was rocked by deadly clashes where southern separatists seized much of the city from other pro-government forces.