Yemen explosion kills 6 government troops, Saudi officer

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in eastern Yemen that killed at least six Yemeni government troops and one Saudi officer.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

19 September, 2019

The representative of Saudi troops in Hadramawt died in the attack [Getty]

An bombing targeting a government military convoy killed at least six Yemeni troops and one Saudi officer in the country's east, security officials said on Wednesday.

The blast took place in the Hadramawt province, far from the territory controlled by the Houthi rebels.

At least 13 soldiers, many of them Saudi, were also wounded in the explosion. Wounded Saudi troops have been airlifted to their home country, security officials noted.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for attack, but al-Qaida's branch in Yemen has carried out similar attacks in the area.

The extremist group has reportedly benefited from the devastation in Yemen, where thousands of civilians have been killed over four years of war and millions more brought to the brink of famine. Last year, al-Qaida said its numbers in the country, estimated to be between 6,000 and 8,000 by US officials, are on the rise.

Thursday's attack marks the first such bombing to target Saudi forces in Hadramawt since the war in Yemen began in 2015.

Security officials said the officer who died was the chief representative of Saudi troops in Hadramawt, Lieutenant Colonel Bandar Muzid al-Otaiby.

Saudi Arabia has been at the helm of a US-backed military coalition fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels since the group seized Yemen's capital Sanaa and large swathes of the country's north in 2015.

Thursday's attack on government forces comes days after the Houthi rebels claimed attacks on key Saudi oil facilities over the weekend.

While Iran has denied a role in the attack, Saudi and US officials have refuted the Houthi claims and pointed to the Islamic Republic as responsible for the drone and missile strikes.