Off the wire
• Israel reverses decision to close embassy in Belarus  • Interview: Portuguese filmmaker re-creating Lisbon in 3D images  • More research needed to launch new board for emerging industry: CSRC  • 9 killed in helicopter crash in Iran  • China Focus: China mulls upgrade of Lancang-Mekong ship route  • China construction firm in Kenya lauded for social responsibility  • Turkey faces increased terror attacks by PKK as clamp down intensifies  • 2nd LD: 26 killed in suicide bomb attack in south of Iraq's Baghdad  • Roundup: Italy to encourage donation of unsold food  • Interview: 13th Five-Year Plan highlights China's foresight: Italy's former PM Mario Monti  
You are here: 　 Home

Explosions hit Yemen's Aden, 25 killed

Xinhua, March 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

Three explosions rocked Yemen's temporary capital of Aden on Friday evening, leaving 25 people killed and several others injured, a security official told Xinhua.

The huge blasts were caused by suicide bombers attempting to attack the main headquarters of the Saudi-led coalition forces located in Aden's district of Buraiga, the security source of Aden's Military Command said on condition of anonymity.

"A suicide bomber detonated his booby-trapped ambulance vehicle near a military checkpoint linking to the main base of the Saudi and UAE forces in Aden," the source said.

He added that two other suicide bombers blew themselves up targeting the army posts near the military base held by hundreds of UAE and Saudi troops in the district.

A medical source of Aden's public hospital said that more than 25 people were killed, mostly civilians, and nearly 15 others injured.

Dozens of assailants launched an armed attack against the Saudi-led coalition forces in Buraiga after double suicide bombings in the area, according to a local government official.

However, fighter jets and the UAE helicopters intervened and pounded the attackers, which foiled the terrorist operation.

The port city of Aden, Yemen's temporary capital, has been witnessing a state of chaos during the past months which resulted in the assassination of Aden's former governor, several high-ranking security officers and judges.

The turbulent security situation in Aden and neighboring southern provinces of Lahj and Abyan is one of the biggest challenges for the Saudi-led Arab coalition forces in Aden.

The coalition has dispatched thousands of soldiers from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Sudan and Bahrain into five anti-Houthi southern provinces to support and train local Yemeni security forces.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East and the affiliate of the Islamic State.

The security situation in the country has deteriorated since March 2015 when a war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and the government backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition. Endit