A suicide auto bomb attack on an army training camp in Yemen’s second city of Aden has killed at least 54 people, according to health ministry officials. The United Nations (UN) announced on Tuesday that at least 10,000 people have been killed in the war so far.
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The ISIS auto bomber attacked a crowded army recruitment center in the southern city, which is the temporary capital city of the pro-Saudi half of Yemen.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings in Yemen and Iraq Monday, killing more than 70 people..
Although the complex was locked as recruits registered inside, the attacker drove in when the gate was opened for a delivery vehicle, officials said.
More than 60 wounded were being taken to three area hospitals, Yemeni security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
ISIS took credit for the suicide bombing via its Amaq news agency shortly after the attack.
Meanwhile, Yemeni Houthi forces are again firing rockets at the corner of southern Saudi Arabia, ending a lull of several weeks and complicating efforts to revive talks on ending the 18-month-old civil war.
Claiming the attack, ISIS stated that “60 people were killed in a militia recruitment center” in what was one of the deadliest massacres perpetrated to date by the terror group in Yemen.
Residents fled when the blast rocked the area and debris was sent flying, one witness said.
The Arab coalition which backs the Yemeni government against Iran-backed rebels has also been providing troops with air cover throughout their war against the jihadists.
The U.N. and rights groups estimate that at least 9,000 people have been killed since fighting escalated in Yemen in March 2015 with the start of Saudi-led airstrikes targeting the Houthis and their allies.
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Cross-border attacks from Yemen have intensified since the suspension in early August of UN-brokered peace talks between the rebels and the government.
