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Blast destroys Aden intelligence HQ

August 22, 2015

The explosion destroyed the secret police headquarters in Yemen's second largest city, but no injuries were reported. Fighting has also intensified in Taiz, leaving dozens dead and hospitals overrun.

https://p.dw.com/p/1GJn4
A destroyed building in Aden, Yemen
Image: Reuters/Str

Local journalists said several explosives had been planted around the facility, which lay in the central neighborhood of Tawahi, causing a huge blast which destroyed the four-storey building.

One official, quoted by the AFP news agency, blamed the bombing on al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and not Shiite Houthi rebels, who captured Aden - and much of Yemen - in March.

The official, who requested to remain anonymous, alleged that AQAP militants had taken advantage of the fierce fighting last month as pro-government forces wrested back control of the southern city from the Iran-backed rebels.

The claim was backed up by an independent news site, Aden al-Ghad, which blamed al Qaeda-linked insurgents for Saturday's explosion.

The building was a vital part of the power base of exiled President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi, who fled Yemen for Saudi Arabia in March.

Local residents said the blast, which took place at 6 a.m. local time (03:00 UTC), could be felt across the southern city.

There were no casualties and no immediate claim of responsibility.

On Friday, Hadi proposed a 15-day ceasefire between the various warring factions, calling for a return to UN-led peace talks despite the failure of two previous truce attempts.

Searching through the rubble in Taiz, Yemen
More than a dozen buildings were destroyed inTaizImage: Reuters

Also on Friday, Doctors Without Borders appealed to fighters on all sides to halt attacks on civilians after more than 65 people were killed in Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city.

Fighting intensified when Houthis started shelling residential areas on Thursday. This provoked airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition, which has been targeting the rebels since March.

The charity said it had been unable to reach hospitals nearby because of the fighting .

Medical centers in the city are "totally overwhelmed" and have run out of essential medication, said a statement from the aid group, which is also known as Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

More than 900 people have been wounded over the past three days and 133 have died due to their severe injuries in Taiz, MSF added.

The death toll since March from the conflict is more than 4,000, and the UN estimates that millions of Yemenis are facing famine.

mm/ng (AP, AFP, dpa),