ISIL claims responsibility for the twin suicide bombings in Yemen

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The death toll in twin suicide attacks which rocked the headquarters of counter-terrorism forces in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Saturday has risen to six.

"At least six soldiers were killed and nearly 43 others injured, mostly civilians, as a result of the explosions," said Xinhua, citing sources at Basuheeb Military Hospital.

According to the sources "most of the injured were civilians and children who were sitting with their families on the beach of GoldMor area, where the explosions happened."

Smoke billows from a hilltop during clashes between fighters from Yemen's southern separatist movement on January 28, 2018. /VCG Photo

ISIL claims responsibility

ISIL's official news agency Amaq said in a brief statement that "two jihadist operations hit the camp of the counter-terrorism troops in Aden."

The group gave no further details on the two explosions or the casualties.

The two bombings

Two suicide bombers detonated their vehicles in an attack that targeted anti-terror forces backed by the United Arab Emirates in Aden on Saturday.

One of Xinhua's Aden-based government sources said that the first suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car and targeted the main gate of a compound held by counter-terrorism forces backed by the United Arab Emirates in Aden's neighborhood of Tawahi.

The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that another attacker drove his explosives-laden car and managed to enter the anti-terror base, causing the second explosion.

Witnesses near the scene confirmed to Xinhua that heavy exchange of gunfire erupted shortly after the twin explosions that rocked the city.

A police source said that the two explosions took place near the compound of the pro-secesssion Southern Transitional Council in Aden.

Why Aden?

The southern port city of Aden is considered Yemen's temporary capital and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has based itself there since 2015.

During the past two years, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and other terrorist groups including the Islamic State has had an active presence in Yemen's southern part.

The United Nations has listed Yemen as the country facing the world's number one humanitarian crisis, with seven million Yemenis on the brink of famine and cholera causing more than 2,000 deaths.

(Top image: Fighters from Yemen's southern separatist movement sit in the back of a pick-up truck in the country's second city of Aden on January 28, 2018. /VCG Photo)

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Source(s): Xinhua News Agency