Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for Yemen attacks

An al-Qaeda affiliated group in Yemen has claimed responsibility for a series of bomb attacks in the country’s southwestern city of Aden.

In a statement released on Thursday, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the bombings, saying, “Those blessed operations against… the security (headquarters) in Aden are only a warning message to this puppet government and its army of mercenaries.”

On Tuesday, at least three people were killed in three explosions targeting security administration buildings in the city.

The al-Qaeda group said that the bombings were in response to an earlier attack by the Yemeni army.

According to security officials on Thursday, unidentified gunmen killed Colonel Marawan al-Moqbouli, a senior intelligence officer, while travelling in his car in Aden.

Earlier this week, eight people, including five soldiers, were killed in an assault on an army position in the southwestern province of Lahij.

On August 31, 2013, Yemeni Prime Minister Mohammed Salim Basindawa escaped an assassination attempt by unknown gunmen, who opened fire on his convoy in the capital Sana’a.

Al-Qaeda loyalists have carried out a spate of deadly attacks against Yemeni security forces since Ali Abdullah Saleh’s successor, President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, came to power in February 2012.