Islamic State claims bombing at army camp kills ten in Aden
A man in military uniform penetrated the Ras Abbas camp and blew himself up. Dozens of wounded were taken to hospital. The military base is run by the Hadi government, which is backed by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels. Aden governor survived an ambush yesterday.
Aden (AsiaNews) – A suicide bomber killed at least ten recruits at a Yemeni army camp run by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government in the southern port city of Aden on Wednesday.
The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of bombings rattling the city since Saudi-backed forces captured Yemen's second-largest city from the Iran-allied Houthis in July last year.
The attack targeted hundreds of new recruits at the Ras Abbas camp in Aden's Buraiqa district, which was recently set up by the Hadi government to absorb new conscripts being trained to fight the Houthis who are allied with the forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and militarily supported by Iran.
Witnesses said that the bomber wore a military uniform used by the new recruits, enabling him to penetrate the crowd undetected and detonate the bomb at the camp gate. "The explosion shook the camp violently and it could be heard miles away," a witness told Reuters.
IS claimed responsibility in a statement on its online media arm Amaq. Residents said that IS, one of several armed groups that operate in southern Yemen, had recently warned young Yemenis against joining the army being set up by Hadi's government.
This is the second violent incident in Aden in two days. Yesterday, the city’s governor and security director survived a gun attack by unknown assailants on their convoy in the city.
In January 2015, Yemen plunged into a brutal civil conflict opposing the country’s Sunni leadership, backed by Saudi Arabia, and Shia Houthi rebels, close to Iran.
In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition began air strikes against the rebels in an attempt to free the capital Sana'a and reinstall ousted President Hadi, who eventually returned from exile.
Last January, UN experts documented 119 military operations by the Saudi-led coalition that violated international law, many of which involve multiple attacks that hit civilian targets. The probe found that fleeing civilians were attacked by helicopters.
Since air strikes began, more than 5,800 have been killed. Some 80 per cent of the population is now in dire need for food, water, and basic necessities.
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