Suspected al-Qaida gunmen blew up an intelligence compound in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on Saturday morning, causing a huge explosion that rocked the whole city, a government official told Xinhua.
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They said Saturday the fighters have seized the Tawahi district entirely and were patrolling the streets. Yemeni security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the violence in Taiz began with Shi’ite rebels, also known as Houthis, first shelling residential areas and killing 23 civilians.
The Venus, operated by United Arab Shipping Co., had a cargo of 350 containers of products ordered by businesses in Aden, which was retaken by pro-government forces last month, said port deputy director Aref al-Shaabi. It also has forces in the cities of Breiqa, west of Aden, and al-Khadra, the officials added.
“They are spread out in Tahawi and we can say they have the area under their control”.
The four-storey building in the Tawahi neighbourhood of Aden was razed by the blast which occurred at around 6 am (0300 GMT) and which could be heard across the city, residents said.
Al-Qaida’s Yemen branch is considered by Washington to be the most unsafe offshoot of the terror network.
One local official, who declined to be named, said the bombing was carried out by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Al-Qaida, which had only a minor role the war against the Houthis, took advantage of the chaos to recruit hundreds of young men and acquire weapons, according to several officials.
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Washington, meanwhile, has kept up its drone attacks targeting the militants, including one in June in the city of Mukalla that killed the group’s top leader. Some Yemeni officials are now in Aden but the government remains in Saudi Arabia.
