2nd LD-Writethru: Twin suicide bombings target counter-terrorism forces in Yemen's Aden

ADEN, Yemen, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Twin suicide car bombings struck a camp of counter-terrorism forces in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Saturday evening, a government official told Xinhua.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car at the main gate of the counter-terrorism forces headquarters in Aden's neighborhood of Tawahi, causing casualties among soldiers, the Aden-based government source said on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, another attacker managed to enter the anti-terror base in his explosives-laden car, and made the second explosion, the source added.

Witnesses near the scene told Xinhua that heavy gunfire erupted 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.

He said that the security forces manning the STC compound located near the headquarters of the anti-terror troops repulsed a number of militants who were trying to storm the two buildings.

"A number of attackers tried to storm the buildings of the STC and the anti-terror troops but our soldiers fought them back and aborted the attack," the local police source added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the twin suicide vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (SVBIEDs) yet, but both the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch and the Islamic State group conducted several attacks in Aden.

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

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

The impoverished Arab country has been locked into a civil war since the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including capital Sanaa, in 2014.

Saudi Arabia leads an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Iran-backed Houthi rebels forced him into exile.

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