'IS' affiliate claims deadly attack on Yemen hotel
October 6, 2015
A statement purportedly published by the "Islamic State" ("IS") supporters on social media on Tuesday said that four suicide bombers carried out the attacks using a Humvee vehicle and three armored cars containing explosives. Arab soldiers and loyalist militiamen were among those killed in the blasts.
"In a blessed operation facilitated by God, four martyrdom operations targeted a gathering of Saudi, Emirati and Yemeni officers," the statement said.
The terrorist group also posted photos of four smiling men on Twitter who it claimed were the four suicide bombers.
Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled al-Bahah wrote on his official Facebook page shortly after the attack that two rockets fell in the grounds of Aden's al-Qasr Hotel. Several Yemeni government members had been staying there due to the occupation of Sanaa - Yemen's capital - by Houthi rebels.
The explosions also reportedly hit two buildings which are being used by United Arab Emirates (UAE) forces, who support Bahah's government. The UAE initially blamed the Houthis and the rebels' ally, former Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh, for Tuesday's attack.
Depite UAE troops driving the mainly Shiite Houthi rebels out of Aden in July, the city remains unstable, with recent reports of al-Qaeda and the Yemeni branch of "IS" both trying to establish themselves there.
Having already seized large swathes of land in Syria and Iraq, "IS" first appeared in Yemen in March when the group launched a series of suicide attacks on Shiite Muslim moques in which 137 peple died.
ksb/se (Reuters, AP, dpa)