8 Yemeni soldiers killed in suicide car bombing attacks in Aden

 At least eight soldiers were killed and 10 others wounded Wednesday when two car bombs went off at the main gate of a military base in Yemen's temporary capital of Aden, a government official told.

The government source based in Aden said that the latest reports indicate that eight soldiers were killed and more than 10 others wounded by the massive blasts of two car bombs that targeted a military base in Aden's district of KhorMaksar.

The double suicide attacks targeted the Sulaban special forces camp located near Aden's airport and followed by heavy clashes that continued for about one hour.

An army source told Xinhua that "scores of assailants wearing Yemeni army uniforms launched an a well-planned attack on the military base after the two suicide bombings."

"The terrorist attackers used rocket-propelled grenades RPGs and attempted to storm the military base from different directions," the army source said.

Witnesses told Xinhua that Saudi-led helicopters intervened and air-covered security forces during the armed confrontations with the terrorist attackers.

The two massive blasts set fire to some army vehicles inside the brigade and caused partial damage to nearby residential buildings, the source added.

Medical sources said that the toll could rise as ambulances and police vehicles were evacuating victims to the nearby hospitals and medical centers in Aden.

The Yemeni government forces launched anti-terror offensives and drived out scores of gunmen linked to the al-Qaida and the Yemen-based affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) from key neighborhoods and government compounds in Lahj and Abyan provinces in the last two months.

The pro-government forces backed by UAE warplanes continued to make significant gains and recaptured key areas from al-Qaida militants in the country's southern provinces and in southeastern province of Hadramout during the past weeks.

However, Yemen's temporary capital of Aden and other provinces controlled by the internationally recognized government are still witnessing a state of chaos and lawlessness that resulted in the assassinations of several high-ranking security and military officials.

The turbulent and complicated security situation in Aden and neighboring southern provinces of Lahj and Abyan is one of the biggest challenges for the Saudi-led Arab coalition forces operating in Aden.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition has dispatched thousands of soldiers from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Sudan and Bahrain into five anti-Houthi southern provinces to support and train local Yemeni security forces there.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East and the affiliate of IS.
Source:XINHUA