Yemeni officials say a suicide vehicle bombing has targeted a security compound near the global airport in the southern city of Aden, killing at least 10 people.
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Attackers detonated a auto bomb at the entrance to a military base adjoining Aden’s global airport, pictured, allowing a second vehicle to drive inside where it exploded killing at least four people.
Only 10 of the Yemeni troops were actually killed at the site of the base itself, and while that major battle was ongoing, AQAP forces also hit another security facility inside the city itself, killing the other four.
“The attackers used rocket-propelled grenades and attempted to storm the military base from different directions”, he said.
Ground troops of a Saudi-led coalition, which intervened in support of the government in March previous year, are based in the city.
No group has said it was responsible, but Islamic State and al-Qaeda have carried out similar attacks before.
The attack came as Muslims celebrated the feast of Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Yemen’s multi-national coalition is led by Saudi officials, with the country being forced to engage in a bloody war to reclaim its capital of Sanaa from Houthi rebels.
The attackers were dressed as government soldiers, allowing them to seize control of a military building inside the base, officials said.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has exploited the chaos to expand areas under its control and recruit more followers.
In May, twin suicide bombings in Aden claimed by ISIS killed at least 41 people.
All of the militants were killed in the attack and the clashes that followed.
The attacks targeted security positions in Mukalla, a southeastern port city in Hadramout province.
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But in Mukalla too, the government has struggled to secure the city and there have been repeated deadly reprisal bombings by the jihadists.
