Dozens die in Yemen suicide attack

Dozens die in Yemen suicide attack
By Catherine Hardy with AFP, Reuters
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Officials say soldiers were queuing up to collect their salaries near a military base in the Khor Maksar district of Aden when an ISIL attacker blew himself up.

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A suicide bomber has killed at least 43 soldiers in the southern Yemeni port of Aden.

It comes a week after ISIL militants killed 50 troops.

Officials say the soldiers were queuing up to collect their salaries near a military base in the Khor Maksar district when an attacker blew himself up.

At least 60 other troops are said to have been wounded.

Officials are warning the death toll could rise.

Claimed by ISIL

ISIL have said they were behind the bombing.

The militant group said it was carried out by a suicide bomber identified as Abu Hashem al-Radfani.

Aden – an important city

Aden is the second-biggest city in Yemen and is the temporary capital of the country’s internationally-recognised government-in-exile in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

The administration has struggled to establish its control in the city as militants have launched dozens of attacks against its forces.

The background

Al Qaeda and ISIL have exploited nearly two years of conflict in the impoverished country to carry out assassinations and bombings.

Most have been in lawless areas of southern Yemen, nominally controlled by the government.

Saudi Arabia and its allies in a mostly-Gulf Arab military coalition have been bombing Yemen’s dominant Houthi movement in parts of the country under its control since it drove the government from power in March 2015.

The death toll from the conflict

The UN estimates more than 7,000 people have been killed and 37,000 injured in the 21-month-long conflict.

What they are saying

“The attacker targeted soldiers who had gathered in front of the residence, in an open and non-secured environment,” – a military official.

In tweets

Dozens of Yemeni soldiers killed in Aden suicide bombing https://t.co/fYB22erpN3pic.twitter.com/Sfk4aQd6VZ

— FRANCE 24 (@FRANCE24) December 18, 2016

Suicide attack kills more than 40 soldiers in Yemeni city of Aden, security officials say. https://t.co/xdXX5fzjtXpic.twitter.com/GMPK73M2w8

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) December 18, 2016

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