Terror bomber wearing uniform kills 100 Yemeni soldiers

Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — The Yemen Army has been struck hard by Al Qaida.

At least 100 Yemeni soldiers were killed by a suspected Al Qaida suicide
bomber in downtown Sanaa.

Forensic policemen collect evidence at the site of a May 21 bomb attack at a Sanaa parade square. /AP/Hani Mohammed

Officials said the bomber, dressed in a Yemen Army uniform, slipped into a military parade rehearsal on May 21 and blew himself up near the nation’s defense minister.

“The war on terrorism will continue until it is uprooted and annihilated completely, regardless of the sacrifices,” Yemeni President Abbed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, reported to have fired senior military and intelligence officers, said.

The parade had been scheduled to take place on May 22. Officials said
Yemen replaced the Sanaa parade, meant to commemorate the unification of north and south in 1990, with a small ceremony at a military college.

The bombing, which injured more than 200 people, is said to have been the bloodiest attack on the Sanaa regime. The attack, said to comprise a major security breach, took place during a U.S.-directed Yemeni military offensive against Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

“This criminal act cannot be justified by any cause,” United Nations
secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said.

AQAP claimed responsibility for the attack, which the Yemeni Defense
Ministry said killed at least 95 soldiers and injured 222. The Islamic
network said the bombing was in retaliation for the Yemeni military
offensive in the south and east, believed to have killed scores of fighters.

“We will take revenge, God willing, and the flames of war will reach you
everywhere,” AQAP said.

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