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Yemen’s al Qaeda Wing Claims Responsibility for Aden Governor Attack | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Anti-Houthi fighters of the Southern Popular Resistance stand near a tank in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden May 16, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer


Yemen’s al Qaeda wing has claimed responsibility for a bomb attack that targeted governor of the southern city of Aden Aidaroos al-Zubaidi, U.S. monitoring group SITE reported.

Security officials said on Friday that a car packed with explosives blew up when the convoy of governor, Zubaidi, passed by in the Inma area of Aden. One soldier was wounded in the attack but Zubaidi was unhurt.

SITE cited a brief statement by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) on its Telegram channel on Friday saying it had detonated a bomb in a parked vehicle.

It said both Zubaidi and Aden police chief, Shallal Shayei, were in the vehicle, but gave no further details.

Zubaidi’s predecessor Jaafar Saad was killed on December 6 in a car bomb claimed by the ISIS group. Zubaidi was appointed governor of Aden afterwards.

In February suspected Al-Qaeda militants opened fire on a convoy carrying Zubaidi and Aden’s police chief General Shallal Shayei. Both escaped unharmed.

Zubaidi and Shayei also survived a car bombing that targeted their convoy in Aden on January 5, killing two of their bodyguards.

Jihadists have exploited the turmoil in Yemen fighting loyalist forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, against rebels in a war that has left more than 6,400 people dead since March 2015.

Pro-government forces last year drove the Iran-backed Houthi insurgents and their allies out of southern provinces, including Aden, but have struggled to assert their authority in areas controlled by jihadists.

With the help of coalition forces, mainly from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, loyalists launched an offensive against Al-Qaeda in March, pushing the jihadists out of neighborhoods in Aden and several provincial capitals.