Suicide bomber kills nearly 100 in Yemen
22 May, 2012
SANAA: A suicide bomber with explosives strapped under his uniform killed nearly 100 people at a military parade rehearsal in the Yemeni capital on Monday, an attack which will alarm Washington as its involvement in the front-line state deepens.
Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, facing a growing campaign by an al Qaeda affiliate in the country, said security forces would become "tougher and more determined in pursuing terrorist elements".
Yemen's defence minister and chief of staff were both present at the rehearsal for today's National Day parade but neither was hurt. A police source said he could not rule out the bombing was an attempt to assassinate them.
The explosion in Sanaa's Sabaeen Square left scenes of carnage, with bloodied victims and body parts strewn across the 10-lane road where the rehearsal was held on Monday morning, not far from the presidential palace.
Yemen's Defence Ministry said at least 100 soldiers were killed and 300 wounded.
"We had just finished the parade. We were saluting our commander when a huge explosion went off," said soldier Amr Habib. "It was a gruesome attack. Many soldiers were killed and others had their arms and legs blown off."
Weakened by an uprising that eventually toppled former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's government has lost control over whole swathes of the country, allowing terrorists to overrun several towns in the southern province of Abyan.
The attack, along with an ambush on Sunday on a US military training team, indicated their campaign could be entering a dangerous new stage.
The US sees Yemen as a vital front in its global war on terrorists and is increasing its military support for the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
A US military instructor was seriously wounded in Sunday's ambush, claimed by terrorist group Ansar al-Shariah, which is affiliated to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The same group also claimed responsibility for the military parade suicide attack, saying it was in response to the 'crimes' of the security forces who are fighting to dislodge terrorists from their strongholds in Abyan.
"The suicide bomber was dressed in a military uniform. He had a belt of explosives underneath," said a man who identified himself as Colonel Amin al-Alghabati, his hands and uniform flecked with blood.
The usual security procedure for such an event would involve checks being made on the soldiers at their bases before they are transported to the site of the parade in army vehicles.
In response to the violence, Hadi sacked two senior commanders and allies of his predecessor Saleh, whom he replaced in February. One of them, a nephew of Saleh's, was the head of national security, an intelligence gathering unit that works closely with the CIA.
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