At least 35 security personnel were killed on Thursday in an attack claimed by Yemeni rebels on a military camp in the government-controlled city of Aden, a local security source said.
At least 19 others were injured in the attack, which targeted the camp in the western section of Aden while a military parade was underway, the source said.
The victims included Brigadier Munir al-Yafi, the commander of the so-called Security Belt’s First Support Brigade.
The Security Belt is a force trained and supported by the United Arab Emirates, a key partner in the Saudi-led military alliance fighting in Yemen against Iran-linked Houthi rebels.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack.
Rebel spokesman, Yahya Sarie, said in a statement they had targeted the parade with a drone and a ballistic missile.
The attack was one of two explosions that rocked Aden on Thursday.
The second, resulting from a car bombing near a police station in central Aden, killed three people and injured 20 others, according to the same source.
So far, there has been no claim of responsibility for that bombing.
Aden, in southern Yemen, became the provisional capital of the Saudi-backed government after the rebels overran Yemen’s capital, Sana’a in late 2014, in what has been a devastating power struggle.
The conflict has intensified since March 2015, when the Houthis first advanced on Aden, prompting Saudi Arabia and Sunni allies to start an air campaign against the Shiite group.
Saudis fear that Iran, their regional rival, is backing the Houthis in order to secure a foothold in the Arabian Peninsula. (dpa/NAN)