Al-Qaeda claims authorship of the attack in Yemen

The terrorist network Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the attack which left, according to official sources, at least 96 soldiers dead and 100 wounded in Sanaa, Yemen's capital. The soldiers were victims of a suicide attack against an army unit. There are suspicions that the death toll is higher. According to reports, a suicide bomber, probably the source iemita, dressed in military uniform, broke out among the soldiers preparing for a parade in the Plaza de Sabiine, in celebration of 22 anniversary of the unification between North and South Yemen. The Defense Minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, who was at the scene of the explosion, escaped unharmed, officials said. The Yemeni president, Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, was expected in the military ceremony. Suicide bombing occurs ten days after an army offensive against Al Qaeda in the province of Abyan, southern Yemen, where a year ago the rebels have taken control of several towns and cities. Over the past three months, the attack was first considered severe in Sanaa. Since taking office in February, the current president has pledged to fight the action of Al Qaeda in the country in an attempt to regain control of the government of the cities located to the south. It is estimated that at least 213 people, including 147 al Qaeda fighters, have died since the offensive began. Until the elections of February, Yemen was under intense domestic dispute. Pressured by the international community, the then President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was in power for nearly three decades, announced his departure. In Yemen, the presidential term is seven years, but in recent years, every vote, Saleh was re-elected. In recent days, there was a series of protests against his government and Hadi was eventually elected three months ago.