ISIL-claimed suicide bombing kills 15 Yemeni soldiers in Aden

The blast happened at the Ras Abas military camp in the city's Al Boraiqah district during a training session led by Sudanese troops.

ADEN // A suicide bomber disguised in military uniform killed 15 Yemeni soldiers and injured dozens in an ISIL-claimed attack on a military base in Aden on Wednesday.

The blast happened at the Ras Abas military camp in Al Boraiqah district during a training session led by Sudanese troops, working as part of the Saudi-led coalition to restore the internationally-recognised government.

The director of Al Boraiqah, Hani Al Yazidi, told The National that the suicide bomber set off explosives at the first checkpoint inside the camp. About 50 soldiers were injured, some of them seriously, with several losing hands and legs.

They were taken to Al Masafi hospital in the district, said the manager of the hospital’s emergency department, Rasheed Andualsalam.

“The hospital received seven dead bodies and the rest died while we were trying to save them in the hospital. There may be more dead bodies in the coming hours,” Mr Abdualsalam added, calling on the residents of Aden to donate blood for the wounded.

The so-called Aden and Abyan Province branch of ISIL said the suicide bombing was carried out by one of its militants and alleged it killed 20 “apostate” soldiers.

The bombing came a day after Al Qaeda's Yemeni affiliate claimed an attack on the convoy of Aden's governor and police chief in which three gunmen and a bodyguard were killed.

Al Qaeda and ISIL have taken advantage of the ongoing conflict to increase their presence in some provinces. Both groups have routinely claimed attacks in Aden over the past few months, targeting officials and security personnel.

The former governor of Aden, Major General Jaafar Mohammed Saad, was killed in an ISIL-claimed attack last December.

Some Yemeni analysts say the militants carrying out these attacks are working with former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthi rebels. Mr Saleh’s fighters have allied with the Shiite rebels in fighting the internationally-recognised government of Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

Fadhl Al Rabei, political analyst and head of the Aden-based Madar Strategic Studies Centre, said Mr Saleh and the Houthis were attacking the Yemeni army in Aden and other liberated provinces through Al Qaeda sleeper cells.

“We did not hear about Al Qaeda in Aden before the liberation of Aden from the Houthis and Saleh,” he said, adding that chaos in Aden and other liberated provinces serves the interest of the former president and the rebels.

* With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse