DAESH car bomb kills at least 45 army recruits in Yemen

The attack occurred as the recruits lined up to enlist for military service in the Khor Maksar district of Aden.

A Houthi militant shouts slogans during a demonstration against the US intervention in Yemen, in the country's capital Sanaa, May 13, 2016.
TRT World and Agencies

A Houthi militant shouts slogans during a demonstration against the US intervention in Yemen, in the country's capital Sanaa, May 13, 2016.

A suicide car bombing killed at least 45 army recruits and injured 60 others in the Yemeni city of Aden on Monday, medics said, in one of the deadliest terrorist attack yet on the beleaguered government.

DAESH terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attack in a written statement on social media by saying that the attack targeted "the apostate Yemeni Army" and named the attacker as Abu Ali al Adeni.

The attack occurred as the recruits lined up to enlist for military service at the home of a senior general in the Khor Maksar district of Aden, officials said.

The port city serves as the temporary capital of Yemen's Saudi-backed administration, while it seeks to seize back the capital Sanaa from the armed Houthi militants.

Local news website Aden al Ghad showed pictures of soldiers picking up bloodied comrades from the ground and witnesses reported seeing ambulances transporting the wounded to hospitals.

Another bomb planted at the gate of a nearby army base detonated shortly afterwards but caused no casualties, local officials said.

TRT World and Agencies

Aden is the headquarters of the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi as it battles Shiite rebels backed by Iran who control the capital. The city has seen a spate of attacks in recent months claimed by Al Qaeda and other militant groups.

The attacks follow gains by Yemeni government forces backed by the United Arab Emirates, who mounted an offensive against Al Qaeda terrorist in towns located on the southern coast beginning last month.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has taken advantage of Yemen's civil war which began last year to win control over swathes territory in southern and eastern Yemen.

Yemeni forces pushed them out of the base in the southeastern port city of Mukalla and have stepped up the crackdown on terrorists, killing sixteen in a raid outside the city backed up by Gulf Arab helicopters on Sunday.

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