Aden — A suicide car bombing claimed by the Daesh group killed at least 60 people Monday at an army recruitment center in Aden, in the latest attack to hit the Yemeni city.
Aden is the temporary base of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which has been battling Iran-backed rebels as well as militants.
Security officials said that the attacker drove an explosives-laden vehicle into a gathering of army recruits at a school in northern Aden early Monday.
Although the school was locked as recruits registered inside, the attacker drove in when the gate was opened for a delivery vehicle, officials said.
Witnesses said some recruits were buried when a roof collapsed over them following the blast, which also damaged buildings close to the centre.
The assault killed at least 60 people and wounded 29 others, medical sources from the three hospitals where the victims were taken told AFP. They could not immediately verify if all those killed were recruits.
Yemeni authorities have trained hundreds of soldiers in Aden over the past two months as part of operations to retake neighboring southern provinces from militants. Earlier this month, Yemeni government forces entered Abyan’s provincial capital Zinjibar.
Troops retook other towns across Abyan but have been met by fierce resistance in the key Al-Qaeda stronghold of Al-Mahfid, security sources said.
The militants are still present in areas surrounding the recaptured towns and control large parts of the neighbouring Shabwa province, the sources say.
The Arab coalition battling Iran-backed rebels in Yemen has also been providing troops with air cover throughout their war against the militants.
The coalition intervened in Yemen in March last year and helped government troops push the rebels out of Aden and four other southern provinces.
