Two suicide bombers tried on Monday to ram vehicles laden with explosives through two Yemeni military checkpoints near the government-held southern city of Mukalla, which was recently recaptured from al-Qaeda, killing at least 10 people, the army and medics said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks near the capital of Hadramout province on the Gulf of Aden, the latest in a series of blasts since forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, backed by UAE troops, drove out the Qaeda militants from the city in April.
The Yemeni army’s Second Military Command, which is based in Mukalla, said militants had used a booby-trapped bus at a checkpoint in al-Burum, southwest of Mukalla, and a booby-trapped car in al-Ghaber, to the west.
“Forces at the checkpoints were able to confront the vehicles and prevented them crossing the security barriers,” an army statement said.
It said six soldiers had been killed and 18 wounded.
Medics said four civilians were also dead, and that 15 soldiers had been taken to hospital, five in serious condition.
Militants from Qaeda and its rival ISIS have been building up their presence in the country, taking advantage of the chaos created by the civil war, which began in 2014.
Qaeda’s Yemeni branch had built up a mini-state centered on Mukalla.
The city has seen a number of suicide attacks in recent weeks, most carried out by an ISIS affiliate.