ADEN // More than 50 soldiers were killed on Sunday when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside Al Solban military camp in the southern province of Aden.
Fifty-two soldiers were killed and 63 injured, according to Abdurrahman Al Naqeeb, the spokesman for Aden’s police office.
The soldiers were waiting to enter a building near the house of the commander of the special forces when the suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt, said Abdurrahman Al Naqeeb, spokesperson of Aden’s police. ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Some soldiers are suffering from serious injuries, so the number of people killed may rise,” Mr Al Naqeeb said.
Bassam Khalid is thankful to be alive.
He was one of the soldiers queuing up to receive his salary when the bomber struck, killing one of his friends.
He arrived at Al Solban camp at 4.30am to collect his salary.
“At that time, we were afraid there might be a suicide bomber as we expected that a suicide bomber will target us, so we tried not to crowd around but stood separately on the road,” Mr Khalid told The National.
Security was tight but he managed to enter the house before 7am, after being checked by security forces at the gate.
“All of us were afraid of bombings because there was an explosion in the same area eight days ago,” he said, referring to a suicide bombing that struck the military camp on December 10, killing 57 soldiers.
At 7am, Mr Khalid heard the loud explosion outside the house.
“The explosion was about 150 meters from the gate of the house, and when I heard it, I could not believe that I was still alive, as I saw the dead bodies and injured people everywhere around us,” he said. “The soldiers were so worried but they could not help the injured people quickly, as they suspected that a new suicide bomber will use ambulance, so all ambulances were inspected.”
Extremist groups like ISIL and Al Qaeda have consistently targeted the security forces in Aden and like many other soldiers, Mr Khalid has been left traumatised.
He now intends to quit his job as a soldier for fear of losing his life in the next attack.
“I will return to my former work as a weightlifter at Al Tilal club,” he said quietly.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
