* Islamist militant group says behind attack
* At least 90 killed, 200 wounded – government
* Attack follows death of U.S. trainer on Sunday
(Adds Obama comments)
By Mohammed Ghobari and Tom Finn
SANAA, May 21 (Reuters) – A suicide bomber in army uniform
killed more than 90 soldiers in the heart of the Yemeni capital
on Monday and an al Qaeda affiliate threatened more attacks if a
U.S.-backed campaign against militants in the front-line state
did not stop.
The bombing, which wounded more than 200 people, underscored
the dangers Yemen faces as it battles Islamist militants
entrenched in the south and threatening shipping lanes in the
Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
The explosion left scenes of carnage in Sanaa’s Sabaeen
Square, where the military had been rehearsing for a parade.
Body parts lay strewn across a 10-lane road not far from the
presidential palace.
“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.”
U.S. President Barack Obama said he was very concerned about
extremist activity in the country, a major front in its global
war on al Qaeda, and pledged continued help to counter it.
“That’s important for U.S. safety. It’s also important for
the stability of Yemen and the region,” he said at a NATO summit
in Chicago.
His counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan, called Yemen’s
President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to convey Washington’s
condemnation of the attack.
Washington is increasing its military support for Hadi’s
government and the U.S. military has targeted militants in Yemen
with drones, which have frequently killed civilians and are
deeply resented by Yemenis, even the many who abhor al Qaeda.
Hadi, who took over after Washington and its Saudi-led Gulf
Arab allies persuaded his predecessor to step down to prevent an
uprising spreading anarchy in Saudi Arabia’s neighbour, vowed to
step up the fight against militant strongholds in the south.
“The war on terrorism will continue until it is uprooted and
annihilated completely, regardless of the sacrifices,” Hadi
said, according to a text published by the state news agency.
ROGUE SOLDIER?
One investigator said preliminary findings suggested the
bomber was a rogue soldier who had somehow evaded security
checks rather than a man in a disguise.
“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 defence ministry said at least 90 soldiers had been
killed and 222 people wounded. The al Qaeda affiliate said it
had targeted the defence minister and army commanders.
The defence minister and chief of staff were both at the
rehearsal for Tuesday’s National Day parade — meant to
celebrate Yemeni unity – but neither was hurt. Yemeni officials
said Hadi had moved Tuesday’s parade to a military academy.
The wounded were ferried to hospital in taxis.
“Most of the injuries are to the head, we have dozens
paralysed. We expect the death toll to rise. Most of the injured
here are boys in their teens. Sanaa’s hospitals are
overwhelmed,” said doctor Mohsen al-Dhahari.
Exploiting turmoil resulting from months of protests that
helped topple former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, the militants
seized swathes of territory in the southern province of Abyan.
Medical aid charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said many
civilians had been hurt in the latest fighting in the south.
A U.S. military instructor was seriously wounded in an
ambush on Sunday claimed by militant group Ansar al-Sharia
(Partisans of Islamic Law), which is affiliated to al Qaeda in
the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The AQAP also claimed responsibility for the military parade
suicide attack, saying it was in response to the “crimes” of the
security forces in Abyan.
“We will take revenge, God willing, and the flames of war
will reach you everywhere,” it said.
DISMISSALS
In response to the violence, Hadi sacked two senior
commanders and allies of Saleh, whom he replaced in February.
One of them, a nephew of Saleh, was the head an intelligence
gathering unit that works closely with the CIA.
The army splintered into pro- and anti-Saleh camps during
last year’s revolt, hampering the campaign against militants.
“Hadi is serious about the confrontation, but he does not
have a grip on the whole security apparatus, security services
and the army in order to succeed,” said Saeed Obaid, a Yemeni
researcher of Islamist groups.
Monday’s bombing was the most deadly in a spate of attacks
in the impoverished state since Hadi, Saleh’s deputy, took over
from him in a process meant to end in democracy.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the
bombing and urged Yemenis to support the political transition.
Analysts said it was hard to see how one attacker could have
caused so many casualties.
Saudi intelligence services said earlier this month they had
foiled a plot by al Qaeda’s Yemen-based wing to arm a suicide
bomber with an improved version of an “underwear bomb” of the
type that failed to explode on a 2009 U.S.-bound flight.
One analyst said the device used on Monday is unlikely to
have been a version of the underwear bomb, which appears to be a
comparatively small, high-tech device intended to cause a
puncture in the body of an airliner.
Jeremy Binnie, Middle East/Africa editor of Jane’s Defence
Weekly, added that the high death toll on Monday may have been
due to the fact the troops were in ranks, not crowded together.
At least seven militants and seven soldiers were killed on
Monday when Islamist fighters attacked an army position near the
southern town of Zinjibar, residents and an official said.
Yemeni troops closed in on the southern militant-held town
of Jaar on Sunday in heavy fighting, part of a new U.S.-backed
offensive launched earlier this month to regain control of
territory and towns seized by Ansar al-Sharia.
(Additional reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf in Aden, Firouz
Sedarat in Dubai, Warren Strobel in Washington and William
Maclean in London; writing by Isabel Coles and Philippa
Fletcher; editing by Sami Aboudi)
