IS claims responsibility for Yemen presidential palace suicide attack

A suicide truck bombing killed eight at a checkpoint outside Yemen's presidential palace in the southern city of Aden on Thursday, a security official has revealed.

IS in Yemen has claimed responsibility on a written statement on the internet, naming the bomber as "Abu Hanifa al-Hollande".

The attack appeared to target a convoy entering the complex. Aden's governor, Aidarus al-Zubaidi, was travelling in the convoy, but escaped unharmed, the official said.

Ten other soldiers with the presidential guard were wounded.

Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group both have a presence in Aden, where militants occupy government buildings and are seen patrolling streets and intimidating civilians.

They have claimed a string of attacks and assassinations in recent months. 

The presidential palace was home to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who is backed by the Saudi-led coalition.

	The IS group released this image of the alleged suicide bomber

Hadi returned to Aden after loyalists backed by coalition forces pushed the rebels and their allies out of the city and four other southern provinces in the summer. 

The president had sought refuge in Aden from the rebel-held capital last February, but a Houthi advance on the south in March forced him to flee to Riyadh.

The IS statement claiming responsibility said the attacked he planted his car bomb in the Mashiq area outside the presidential palace, and described Hadi as a "tyrant" and an "apostate".  

The armed group also released footage of the attack - with stills purporting to show the vehicle, packed with explosives, heading towards the presidential facility before detonating. 

These images were released by the Islamic State group's media arm and cannot be verified by The New Arab