Yemen: nine dead in car bomb at Aden airport

At least nine people were killed in a car bomb near an airport in Yemen’s temporary capital, Aden.

Another 12 people are believed to have been injured in Saturday’s blast, described as a “terrorist attack” by Prime Minister Mueen Abdulmalek Saeed.

Eyewitnesses claim that women and children are among the victims. So far no one has claimed responsibility.

Local media note that the attack coincided with the arrival of the former governor of Aden at the airport. He is unharmed.

The current governor was himself the target of a car bomb three weeks ago that resulted in the deaths of six other people, the AFP news agency reported.

Saturday’s bombing is the deadliest attack in the city since at least 22 people were killed at the same airport last December.

The country’s internationally recognized government has been based in Aden since 2014, when Houthi rebels forced them out of the capital, Sanaa.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when a coalition of Saudi-led Arab states launched a military operation to defeat the Houthis and restore the rule of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.

The fighting reportedly claimed the lives of over 110,000 people; triggered the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, with millions on the brink of famine; and left the country even more vulnerable to the Covid-19 pandemic.