ISIL bomb kills at least 49 Yemeni soldiers who had lined up to get paychecks

by WorldTribune Staff, December 19, 2016

At least 49 Yemeni army conscripts were killed in an Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) bombing on Dec. 18 in the port city of Aden.

_54161254_adenmapOfficials said the soldiers were in a line to collect their paychecks near a military base in the Khor Maksar district when the attacker blew himself up. At least 60 other troops were wounded.

It was the second bombing in Aden in just over a week. On Dec. 10, 50 Yemeni troops were killed and 26 injured in an ISIL bombing.

Aden is the temporary capital of the government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who is operating from exile in neighboring Saudi Arabia. Hadi’s administration has struggled to establish its control in Aden as jihadists have launched dozens of attacks against its forces.

Saudi Arabia and its allies in a mostly Gulf Arab military coalition have been bombing Iran-backed Houthi rebels since the rebels drove Hadi’s government from power in March 2015. The coalition has has thus far failed to dislodge the Houthis from the capital, Sanaa.