45 Yemeni army recruits killed in ISIS bomb attacks

Chiqui Guyjoco Tuesday, May 24, 2016

At least 45 army recruits were killed and 60 injured on Monday, May 23 by a pair of bomb attacks staged by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), official reports said.

People walk at the site of a suicide bombing in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, May 23, 2016. | REUTERS/FAWAZ SALMAN

According to Yemeni security officials, 20 young men were among the casualties in the first of the double blasts that occurred outside an army recruitment center in the Khormaksar district near the Badr base, the location of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government. A suicide bomber targeted the men who were lining up to enlist for military service.

The second blast came from another suicide bomber who set foot inside the base outside the home of an army commander and killed 25 more, according to Al Arabiya.

The Islamic State terrorist group released a statement shortly afterwards to claim responsibility for the attacks, referring to the casualties as "apostate Yemeni army," as quoted by Reuters. Abu Ali Al Adeni was one of the attackers identified by the militant group.

The city of Aden serves as Hadi's temporary capital as the government forces backed by Saudi Arabia try to recapture the Sanaa capital from the Houthi rebels supported by Iran. Hadi loyalists and the Shiite Houthi rebels have been fighting for power since March 2015, causing 6,400 deaths and displacing two million people so far.

The country is also home to rival militant groups that have taken advantage of the existing state of unrest. Both Al Qaeda and Islamic State staked claims on several government-targeted attacks as they fight for control over the Yemeni lands, according to reports.

Earlier in May, Islamic State militants also staged suicide bomb attacks that killed 25 police recruits outside a police base in Mukalla. On Sunday, the government forces were able to recapture its base in Mukalla.

A United Nations-sponsored peace talks which started in Kuwait last month between the Houthi rebels and Hadi government have been postponed after the Yemeni government announced it would only continue with the peace talks if the rebels cease control of their captured cities.