Islamic State bombing kills 54 government recruits in Yemen
SANAA, Yemen — A suicide car bombing claimed by the Islamic State in Yemen’s southern city of Aden on Monday killed at least 54 pro-government recruits, officials said, underscoring how the militant group has been able to exploit Yemen’s civil war to stage large-scale attacks.
In the attack in Aden, the men were gathered at a staging area near two schools and a mosque when a pickup truck suddenly accelerated through the building’s gate as a food delivery arrived, exploding amid the crowd, witnesses said.
“Bodies and body parts are scattered all over the place,” said Mohammed Osman, a neighbour who rushed to the scene. “It was a massacre.”
The death toll steadily rose through the day and by mid-afternoon, the director of Aden’s Health Ministry, Khidra Lasour, said 54 had died from the explosion. Almost 70 people were wounded, including 30 seriously, and were being treated in area hospitals.