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Al-Qaeda gunmen kill 19 soldiers in attack on army base in Yemen

Aden is controlled by the Yemeni government and its supporters in a Saudi-led military coalition which has been fighting the rebels since 2015.

Al-Qaeda gunmen kill 19 soldiers in attack on army base in Yemen

Representational image (Photo: IStock)

A day after deadly assaults by rebels and a jihadist bomber, at least 19 soldiers were killed when Al- Qaeda gunmen attacked an army base in southern Yemen on Friday, according to security officials.

The gunmen stormed Al-Mahfad base in Abyan province and remained inside for several hours before military reinforcements came, three security officials told AFP.

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“The soldiers were killed in clashes with the jihadists”, they added.

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Government security officials said, “The Qaeda gunmen took advantage of what happened (Thursday) in Aden and launched an assault on Al-Mahfad base and clashed with soldiers” (sic).

“Military reinforcements were sent… and the gunmen were killed while others were driven out with air support from the (Saudi-led) coalition, in an operation that lasted hours,” the official added.

On Thursday, separate attacks by Shiite rebels and jihadists hit security forces in Yemen’s second city Aden, that killed at least 49 people, many of them newly trained police cadets, officials said.

The first attack was a suicide car bombing carried out by jihadists on a police station that killed 13 police officers and wounded several others, a security source said.

The second attack was carried out by the Huthi rebels, who said they launched a drone and a ballistic missile at a training camp west of Aden.

The aerial attack hit as senior commanders were overseeing a passing out parade for newly graduated cadets at Al-Jala Camp, 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the centre of Aden.

Aden is controlled by the Yemeni government and its supporters in a Saudi-led military coalition which has been fighting the rebels since 2015.

(With AFP inputs)

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