Bloody Day in Aden, Yemen's Legitimacy Blames Iran

Soldiers react after a missile attack on a military parade during a graduation ceremony for newly recruited troopers in Aden, Yemen August 1, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman
Soldiers react after a missile attack on a military parade during a graduation ceremony for newly recruited troopers in Aden, Yemen August 1, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman
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Bloody Day in Aden, Yemen's Legitimacy Blames Iran

Soldiers react after a missile attack on a military parade during a graduation ceremony for newly recruited troopers in Aden, Yemen August 1, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman
Soldiers react after a missile attack on a military parade during a graduation ceremony for newly recruited troopers in Aden, Yemen August 1, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman

Separate attacks killed at least 49 people and injured dozens others in Yemen's temporary capital Aden on Thursday, drawing large scale condemnation.

Military and security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the first attack was a suicide car bombing carried out by militants most likely linked to ISIS terrorist group.

They said two militants in the car targeted a police station in Aden's Sheikh Othman district, leaving dozens of casualties and huge damages in nearby buildings and houses.

Medical sources said that 13 policemen were killed and around 20 other people, including passersby, were injured.

The second attack was carried out by the Iran-backed Houthi militias, who said they launched a drone and a ballistic missile at a training camp west of Aden.

The aerial attack hit as senior commanders were overseeing a passing out parade for newly graduated cadets at Al-Jala Camp, in the city's neighborhood of Breiqa, 20 kilometers from the center of Aden.

Sources said the blast occurred behind the stand where the ceremony was taking place. Photos circulated after the attack showed a huge crater on the ground.

Brigadier General Muneer al-Yafee in addition to 35 others were killed.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the missile strike in a statement by a military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yehia Sarea. He said the insurgents had fired a medium-range ballistic missile at the parade.

In January, drones belonging to the Houthis attacked a Yemeni government military parade in the southern province of Lahaj, killing and injuring dozens of people.

The parade was taking place inside a military base in al-Anad district.

The Saudi envoy to Yemen, Mohammed Al Jabir, condemned Thursday’s two attacks in Aden, saying on Twitter that they indicate that Iran "shares common goals with fellow terrorists such as ISIS and al-Qaeda".

Yemen's Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik also accused Iran of being behind the parade attack and the blast at the police station.

The Yemeni government said the "source and purpose (of the attacks) were the same".

"The two attacks prove the Houthi militia rebels and other terrorist groups are sharing roles and complementing each other in a war against the Yemeni people," it added in a statement.

Internationally, the European Union condemned the attack, extending condolences to the families of the victims.

It stressed the importance for all parties involved in the conflict in Yemen to exercise maximum restraint, saying it expected them to fulfill their respective commitments and engage with the UN Special Envoy in a constructive spirit, to achieve a comprehensive political agreement that sets the country on the course to sustainable peace.



Palestinian TV Says Israeli Strike Kills 5 Journalists in Gaza

A destroyed press vehicle near Al Awda hospital following an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 26 December 2024. (EPA)
A destroyed press vehicle near Al Awda hospital following an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 26 December 2024. (EPA)
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Palestinian TV Says Israeli Strike Kills 5 Journalists in Gaza

A destroyed press vehicle near Al Awda hospital following an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 26 December 2024. (EPA)
A destroyed press vehicle near Al Awda hospital following an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 26 December 2024. (EPA)

A Palestinian TV channel affiliated with an armed group said five of its journalists were killed Thursday in an Israeli strike on their vehicle in Gaza, with Israel's military saying it had targeted a "terrorist cell".

A missile hit the journalists' broadcast truck as it was parked in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to a statement from their employer, Al-Quds Today.

It is affiliated with Islamic Jihad, whose fighters have fought alongside Hamas in the Gaza Strip and took part in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war.

The channel identified the five staffers as Faisal Abu Al-Qumsan, Ayman Al-Jadi, Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Khalil, Fadi Hassouna and Mohammed Al-Lada'a.

They were killed "while performing their journalistic and humanitarian duty", the statement said.

"We affirm our commitment to continue our resistant media message," it added.

The Israeli military said in its own statement that it had conducted "a precise strike on a vehicle with an Islamic Jihad terrorist cell inside in the area of Nuseirat".

It added that "prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians".

According to witnesses in Nuseirat, a missile fired by an Israeli aircraft hit the broadcast vehicle, which was parked outside Al-Awda Hospital, setting the vehicle on fire and killing those inside.

The Committee to Protect Journalists' Middle East arm said the organization was "devastated by the reports that five journalists and media workers were killed inside their broadcasting vehicle by an Israeli strike".

"Journalists are civilians and must always be protected," it added in a statement on social media.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said last week that more than 190 journalists had been killed and at least 400 injured since the start of the war in Gaza.

It was triggered by the Hamas-led October 7 attack last year, which resulted in 1,208 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 45,361 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.