ISIS suicide bombing kills at least 60 in Yemen

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SANAA, Yemen – A suicide bomber detonated a car packed with explosives on Monday in a mustering area for army recruits in the port city of Aden in southern Yemen, killing at least 60 people, according to the Health Ministry.

The attack, one of the worst suicide bombings to hit this country, took place in the al-Sanafer neighborhood and was claimed by the Islamic State extremist group through its Amaq news agency.

The Health Ministry in Aden told the Reuters news agency that in addition to the dead, 67 people were wounded.

Many of the wounded were treated at a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders just a mile from the blast site. The humanitarian group said it had received 45 bodies.

“Around 8:15, we heard a great explosion that shook the building of our hospital and we came to know that it occurred at a military camp,” said the group’s communication officer in Aden, Malak Shaher, adding that the injuries varied from critical to minor.

The chairman of Yemen’s Center for Human Rights Studies, Mohammed Qasem Noman, said it was difficult to pin down the toll because the wounded were going to different hospitals around the city.

“The explosion took place at a local government school where new recruits were signing up to join the military,” he said.

Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, has been wracked by a multi-sided battle pitting government forces against Shiite Houthi rebels in the north.

Extremist Islamist groups, including both al-Qada and the Islamic State, have taken advantage of the fighting to gain territory and launch attacks on both sides.

In May, suicide bombers in Aden killed at least 45 army recruits lined up to enlist.

Saudi Arabia is leading an Arab coalition that is backing the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and carrying out airstrikes against the Shiite rebels, which it claims are backed by Iran.

An estimated 3,500 civilians have been killed in the fighting over the last 18 months and about 3 million people have been displaced, according to the United Nations and aid groups.

Peace talks mediated by the United Nations in Kuwait were suspended in early August, and the fighting has continued unabated.

On Thursday, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein called for an international investigation into the serious allegations of abuses committed by “all sides” to the conflict.

On Aug. 18, following the aerial bombing of one its hospitals in the north of the country, Doctors Without Borders announced it was evacuating its staff from hospitals in two northern provinces.

Prior to the announcement, the group was active in 11 hospitals and provided support to 18 others around the country. Yemen represents one of the charity’s largest missions in the world.

Picture: Reuters

(c) 2016, The Washington Post · Ali al-Mujahed, Paul Schemm

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