Twin bombings kill 11 in ex-Al-Qaeda strongholds in Yemen

Aden, Jul 18 : Suicide bombers today attacked two army checkpoints in a former stronghold of Al-Qaeda in southeastern Yemen, killing 11 people, health and security officials said. One attacker drove his bomb-laden truck into a checkpoint in a western district of Hadramawt’s provincial capital Mukalla, security officials told AFP. The second attacker simultaneously blew up his vehicle at an army checkpoint in the nearby town of Hajr, located some 15 kilometres to the west of Mukalla, the sources said. The commander of Hadramawt’s second military region, General Faraj Salmeen had earlier told AFP that the second bombing struck the centre of the city, blaming the attack on “terrorists”. Also Read: France terror attack: Nice Airport evacuated after suspected bomb threat
Eleven people were killed and 18 were wounded in the twin bombings, said Riad Jariri, head of the health department in Mukalla. Four civilians were among those killed, he told AFP. No group has yet claimed responsibility. Mukalla and surrounding towns were under the control of Al-Qaeda for one year until pro-government troops backed by a Saudi-led coalition recaptured the city in April. In March, a US air strike on an Al-Qaeda training camp in Hajr killed more than 70 jihadists, provincial officials said.