Deadliest suicide bombing in Yemen kills 30 soldiers
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ADEN, Dec 18, (APP/AFP) - A suicide bomber killed at least 30 Yemeni soldiers on Sunday when he detonated his explosives at a gathering in the southern city of Aden, military officials and medics said.
Many others were wounded in the attack that targeted a crowd of soldiers gathered to collect their salaries at a base in northeastern Aden, the officials and medics said.
The attacker immersed himself among the soldiers at al-Solban base, in al-Arish district, a military official said.
The attack comes eight days after a similar bombing in Aden claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group killed 48 soldiers and wounded 29 others.
Yemeni authorities have for months pressed a campaign against jihadists who remain active in the south and east of the war-torn country.
IS and its jihadist rival Al-Qaeda have taken advantage of a conflict between the government and the Huthi rebels, who control the capital Sanaa, to bolster their presence across much of the south.
The two groups have carried out a spate of attacks in Aden, Yemen's second city and headquarters of the internationally recognised government whose forces retook the port from the Huthis last year.
But Al-Qaeda has distanced itself from the December 10 attack, claiming that it tends to avoids "the shedding of any Muslim blood" while focusing on fighting the "Americans and their allies."
