DHAKA: A suicide bomber killed at least 30 Yemeni soldiers on Sunday (December 18) 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, reports The Guardian.

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 (IS) 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.

Isis and its jihadist rival Al-Qaida 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 recognized government whose forces retook the port from the Huthis last year.

But Al-Qaida has distanced itself from the 10 December attack, claiming it tends to avoids “the shedding of any Muslim blood” while focusing on fighting the “Americans and their allies”.

BDST: 1306 HRS, DEC 15, 2016
AP/SMS