Al-Qaida says a suicide bomber's attack in Yemen that killed at least 96 troops and wounded more than 200 on Monday was revenge for what it called a U.S.-backed war on its followers.
Yemeni officials say a suspected rogue soldier detonated the explosives as hundreds of fellow troops were lining up for a military parade rehearsal in the capital Sana'a. The soldiers were preparing for a parade on Tuesday to mark the unification of Yemen's north and south.
Al-Qaida's Yemen-based affiliate said the attack was aimed at top Yemeni commanders. It came during a U.S.-backed Yemeni government offensive against militants who seized southern regions last year as the country was engulfed in an uprising against then-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned Monday's bombing, saying perpetrators of the terrorist attack must be held accountable. He called on all people in Yemen to reject the use of violence and fully implement a political transition agreement that saw Mr. Saleh step down in February after 33 years of autocratic rule.
Yemen's defense minister and chief of staff both were at the Sana'a rehearsal but were unharmed. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula said the defense minister was a target of the bombing and warned of more attacks in the government offensive does not stop.
Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who succeeded Mr. Saleh, responded to the bombing by vowing to press on with the fight against al-Qaida. He also dismissed two senior Yemeni military commanders who were allies of his predecessor. Mr. Hadi has promised to restructure the military and purge it of Saleh relatives and loyalists suspected of blocking reforms.
Economist Intelligence Unit Middle East analyst Robert Powell told VOA that al-Qaida has been trying to organize itself in Sana'a for a long time and its activities have usually been disrupted. He said the symbolism and substantial casualties from the attack on the military parade rehearsal indicate that al-Qaida has a greater reach inside Yemen than previously known.
