ADEN (Reuters) - At least 14 people were killed and 40 wounded when Islamist car suicide bombers and gunmen tried to storm the headquarters of a counter-terrorism unit in the southern port city of Aden on Saturday, security and medical sources said.

Islamic State, in a statement carried by its Amaq news agency, claimed responsibility for what it described as two “martyrdom operations” targeting the camp in Tawahi district in south-western Aden.

The agency provided no immediate evidence for the claim.

Security sources said two suicide bombers detonated two cars laden with explosives at the camp’s entrance while six gunmen tried to storm the facility.

They were all killed by guards and their bodies taken to a military hospital, a medical source told Reuters.

Aden police said in a statement on its Facebook page that security forces had foiled a major attack on the camp.

“All the ... terrorists were liquidated immediately before they could reach the outer gate of the anti-terrorism headquarters,” a police statement said.

Security sources and medics said three security men, a woman and two children died in the attack, while 40 other people, many of them civilians, were wounded.

The attack was the first of its kind in southern Yemen since gun battles erupted in January between southern separatists and President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government over control of the city.

Aden is the temporary capital of Yemen’s internationally recognized Hadi government, which is now operating out of Saudi Arabia.

Backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, Hadi’s government has been battling the Iran-aligned Houthi movement since 2015 in a war that has driven the country to the verge of famine.

Residents described two large explosions in the area that sent up a cloud of gray smoke while ambulances raced to evacuate the wounded.

In a statement carried by the state-run Saba news agency, Hadi described the attack as a “cowardly act aimed to destabilize security in the temporary capital ... but it will not dissuade people from their will to achieve security, safety and decent living.”

Al Qaeda and Islamic State have exploited the war in Yemen to carry out assassinations and bombings, mostly in lawless southern Yemeni areas nominally controlled by the government. </s> SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The deputy chief of staff of Yemen’s military has been killed by a rocket fired by Houthi rebels that struck his vehicle in the Red Sea port of Mokha.

Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Abdu Dagher expressed condolences on Twitter after Brig. Gen. Ahmed Seif al-Yafie was killed Wednesday, saying the “end of the enemy is near.”

The SABA news agency, which is controlled by the Houthis, said the rebels had deliberated attacked the general’s vehicle.

Al-Yafie was loyal to the internationally recognized government, which has been battling the rebels and allied army units since 2015. A Saudi-led coalition launched an air and ground campaign in support of the government that year, but the rebels are still in control of the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen. </s> The Latest: IS in Yemen claims Aden police station attack

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The Latest on the situation in Yemen (all times local):

The Islamic State group's affiliate in Yemen has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a police station in the southern city of Aden the previous day.

That attack killed 11 people and involved suicide bombers using a car, a bus and motorcycles laden with explosives that targeted a police station in the city's Omar al-Mokhtar neighborhood during a morning police roll-call.

It was one of two major attacks in Aden on Thursday that killed a total of 51 people. The other attack involved a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's rebels at a military parade of rival forces and killed at least 40 troops.

The IS said in a statement posted on Friday on a militant-linked website that it targeted "apostate" officers loyal to the United Arab Emirates.

Yemeni officials and tribal leaders say al-Qaida militants targeted a military camp in southern Abyan province, killing at least 20 troops.

The militants attacked the camp with rocket propelled grenades and automatic rifles around midnight, setting off clashes that lasted until early morning on Friday. The troops targeted are members of a force trained by the United Arab Emirates, a member of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels since 2015.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to talk to reporters. The tribal leaders asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.

Al-Qaida's Yemen branch has exploited the chaos of Yemen's civil war. The attack came a day after Yemen's southern city of Aden was hit by double attacks that killed 51 people. </s> At least 32 people have been killed in an attack on a military parade in the Yemeni port city of Aden, security and medical sources say.

The attack in Aden, the seat of the Saudi-backed government, was earlier claimed by Yemen's Houthi group.

The group said it launched missile and drone attacks on the parade, killing several people including a commander.

A Reuters witness saw nine bodies on the ground after an explosion hit a military camp belonging to Yemeni forces backed by the United Arab Emirates, which is a member of the Saudi-led military coalition battling the Houthis.

A pro-government military source said a commander was among those killed.

"The blast occurred behind the stand where the ceremony was taking place at Al Jalaa military camp in Buraiqa district in Aden," the witness said. "A group of soldiers were crying over a body believed to be of the commander."

The Houthi's official channel Al Masirah TV said the group had launched a medium-range ballistic missile and an armed drone at the parade, which it described as being staged in preparation for a military move against provinces held by the movement.

The parade "was being used to prepare for an advance on Taiz and Dalea", Masirah cited a Houthi military spokesman as saying.

In a separate attack in another district of Aden on Thursday, an explosives-laden car blew up at a police station killing three soldiers, a security source said.

It was not clear if the incidents were related. Previous car attacks in Yemen have been carried out by Islamist militant groups like al-Qaeda.

The Sunni Muslim coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognised government ousted from power in the capital Sanaa by the Houthis in late 2014. </s> Security forces inspect the site of a deadly attack in Aden, Yemen, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019. Yemen’s rebels fired a ballistic missile at a military parade Thursday in the southern port city of Aden as coordinated suicide bombings targeted a police station in another part of the city. The attacks killed over 50 people and wounded dozens. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Al-Qaida militants targeted a military camp in Yemen’s southern Abyan province, killing at least 20 troops and setting off hours-long clashes that lasted into early morning Friday, Yemeni officials and tribal leaders said.

The attack began around midnight, with militants firing rocket propelled grenades at the camp belonging to members of a Yemeni force trained by the United Arab Emirates, a member of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015.

The militants then overran the camp, seizing and confiscating equipment and weapons, before setting it on fire, according to the tribal leaders. There was no immediate claim of responsibility by al-Qaida but the officials said the attack bore all the hallmarks of the Sunni militant group.

The attack came a day after the main southern city of Aden was shaken by double attacks. The Houthi rebels fired a missile at a military parade of the same UAE-trained militia known as the Security Belt while suicide bombers blasted a police station in another of the city’s neighborhoods.

At least 51 people were killed in the double attacks — the deadliest day in Aden in nearly two years. The city has been the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which is at war with the Houthis.

For nearly four years, Yemen has been torn by the civil war between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, based in the capital, Sanaa, to the north, and the government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition.

Islamic militants — both Yemen’s al-Qaida branch and the Islamic State group’s affiliate — have exploited the chaos of the civil war to carry out bombings, shootings and assassinations in an effort to expand their footprints in Yemen, the Arab world’s most impoverished country.

In Thursday’s attacks in Aden, the Houthis announced they had fired a ballistic missile at the camp of the UAE-trained forces. That attack killed 40 troops.

On Friday, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on the Aden police station, which killed 11. In a statement posted on an IS-linked website, the group said it targeted “apostate” Yemeni officers loyal to the UAE and identified one of the suicide bombers involved in the attack.

Following the deadly attack in Abyan, to the east of Aden, security officials said the UAE-trained force sent reinforcements to pursue militants who had ransacked the Security Belt’s camp.

Meanwhile, Saudi-led forces launched airstrikes Friday on al-Qaida targets in the area.

The Yemeni officials and tribal leaders spoke on condition of anonymity, the officials because they were not authorized to talk to reporters and the tribal elders because they feared reprisals.

Associated Press writers Noha ElHennawy and Maamoun Youssef in Cairo contributed to this report. </s> SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Al-Qaida militants targeted a military camp in Yemen's southern Abyan province, killing at least 20 troops and setting off hours-long clashes that lasted into early morning Friday, Yemeni officials and tribal leaders said.

The attack began around midnight, with militants firing rocket propelled grenades at the camp belonging to members of a Yemeni force trained by the United Arab Emirates, a member of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015.

The militants then overran the camp, seizing and confiscating equipment and weapons, before setting it on fire, according to the tribal leaders. There was no immediate claim of responsibility by al-Qaida but the officials said the attack bore all the hallmarks of the Sunni militant group.

The attack came a day after the main southern city of Aden was shaken by double attacks. The Houthi rebels fired a missile at a military parade of the same UAE-trained militia known as the Security Belt while suicide bombers blasted a police station in another of the city's neighborhoods.

At least 51 people were killed in the double attacks — the deadliest day in Aden in nearly two years. The city has been the seat of Yemen's internationally recognized government, which is at war with the Houthis.

For nearly four years, Yemen has been torn by the civil war between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, based in the capital, Sanaa, to the north, and the government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition.

Islamic militants — both Yemen's al-Qaida branch and the Islamic State group's affiliate — have exploited the chaos of the civil war to carry out bombings, shootings and assassinations in an effort to expand their footprints in Yemen, the Arab world's most impoverished country.

In Thursday's attacks in Aden, the Houthis announced they had fired a ballistic missile at the camp of the UAE-trained forces. That attack killed 40 troops.

On Friday, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on the Aden police station, which killed 11. In a statement posted on an IS-linked website, the group said it targeted "apostate" Yemeni officers loyal to the UAE and identified one of the suicide bombers involved in the attack.

Following the deadly attack in Abyan, to the east of Aden, security officials said the UAE-trained force sent reinforcements to pursue militants who had ransacked the Security Belt's camp.

Meanwhile, Saudi-led forces launched airstrikes Friday on al-Qaida targets in the area.

The Yemeni officials and tribal leaders spoke on condition of anonymity, the officials because they were not authorized to talk to reporters and the tribal elders because they feared reprisals. </s> A suicide bomber killed at least 43 soldiers in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden on Sunday, officials there said, a week after an attack by the militant Islamic State group killed 50 troops nearby.

The officials said the soldiers were queuing to collect salaries near a military base in the Khor Maksar district when the attacker blew himself up. At least 60 other troops were wounded, they said.

Aden is the temporary capital of Yemen’s internationally recognised government in exile in neighbouring Saudi Arabia. The administration has struggled to establish its control in the city as militants have launched dozens of attacks against its forces.

Al Qaeda and Islamic State have exploited nearly two years of war in the impoverished country to carry out assassinations and bombings, mostly in lawless southern Yemeni areas nominally controlled by the government.

Saudi Arabia and its allies in a mostly Gulf Arab military coalition have been bombing Yemen’s dominant Houthi movement in parts of the country under its control since it drove the government from power in March 2015.

They have failed to dislodge the group from the capital, Sanaa. </s> SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni security officials say a suicide car bomber has struck a security camp in a southern Yemeni city, killing eight soldiers.

The officials say the bomber, who was disguised as a driver carrying a load of fire wood for cooking, failed to get inside the camp after soldiers stopped him. So he blew himself up at the gates instead.

The explosion took place on Friday in the city of Jaar, a militant hotbed.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief reporters. No group immediately claimed responsibility.

Southern Yemen has seen a spate of suicide bombings by extremist groups as the weak, internationally recognized government has failed to restore security after forcing Houthi Shiite militias and allied forces out of the south in 2015. </s> ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least 54 people when he drove a car bomb into a militia compound in Aden on Monday, the health ministry said, in one of the deadliest attacks claimed by Islamic State in the southern Yemeni port city.

The director general of Yemen’s health ministry in Aden, al-Khader Laswar, told Reuters that at least 67 other people were wounded in the attack in the city’s Mansoura district.

The militant Islamic State group said in a statement carried by its Amaq news agency one of its suicide bombers carried out the bombing.

“Around 60 dead in a martyrdom operation by a fighter from Islamic State targeting a recruitment center in Aden city,” the statement said, without giving further details.

A security source said the attack targeted a school compound where conscripts of the Popular Committees, forces allied to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, were gathered for breakfast.

Related Coverage Islamic State claims Yemen suicide bombing, says about 60 militia recruits killed

Witnesses said the suicide bomber entered the compound behind a truck that had brought breakfast for the conscripts, who had queued for the meal.

Ambulance sirens wailed throughout the morning as they ferried casualties to a hospital run by medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which was overwhelmed by the number of casualties. An MSF spokesperson said the hospital received at least 45 bodies and more than 60 wounded people.

Islamist militants, including Islamic State, have exploited an 18-month-old civil war between the Houthi movement and Hadi’s supporters, attacking senior officials, religious figures, security forces and compounds of the Saudi-led Arab military coalition which supports Hadi.

Last month, the governor of the southern Yemeni city of Aden survived a car bomb attack targeting his convoy, the latest attempt on the city’s top official.

In May, a suicide bomber killed at least 40 army recruits and injured 60 others when he rammed a booby-trapped car at recruits lined up to enlist for military service at a compound in Aden.

Slideshow (5 Images)

Hadi’s supporters, who accuse former President Ali Abdullah Saleh of using Islamist militants to target the internationally-recognized president, have launched a series of raids in recent weeks to try to stem the violence, seizing dozens of people suspected of involvement in attacks across the city.

In eastern Yemen, forces loyal to Hadi, backed by troops from the United Arab Emirates, drove members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula from the city of Mukalla in a military operation in May.
At least 36 security forces, including Southern Movement commander Munir Al Yafi, are killed and scores wounded in a rocket attack on a military camp near the city of Aden, Yemen. In an earlier attack, 13 people are killed by a suicide bomber in Sheikh Othman. The rocket attack was claimed by Houthi movement, while the suicide bombing was claimed by Islamic State.