Double car bomb attack kills at least 10 near Aden airport in Yemen

TIL Desk/World/Aden-A suicide car bomber struck a military and security compound adjacent to the international airport in southern Yemeni port city of Aden today, killing at least 10 people. The incident set off clashes with soldiers, medical and security officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came as Muslims worldwide celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. This year, the holy month has been particularly bloody, with attacks that killed 350 people and spread terror across continents.

Yemen, which is the grips of a civil war and has long battled a potent Al-Qaeda branch known as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has also seen an Islamic State affiliate emerge to stage large-scale attacks, particularly in the country’s south. In today’s attack, the officials said that after the car bomb hit the Central Security headquarters, next to the Aden International Airport, militants stormed the compound and were clashing with soldiers. Explosions were heard and ambulance sirens wailed in the distance.

The death toll was expected to rise further, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. Yemen’s civil war pits the country’s Shiite rebels known as Houthis and their allies against the internationally recognised government, backed by the Saudi-led coalition of mainly Arab states. The conflict in Yemen has killed an estimated 9,000 people and pushed the Arab world’s poorest country to the brink of famine.