Huge explosion hits military camp, kills 10 civilians in Yemen

Ten civilians have been killed and several others wounded in a powerful explosion at a military camp in northwestern Yemen.

A local official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the blast hit a weapons depot at the military camp, adjacent to a populated area, in Yemen’s northeastern province of Hajjah.

“The depot belongs to the Mika brigade stationed in Hajjah Province, 170 kilometers northwest of the capital Sana’a,” the official said.

“The weapons in the depot exploded and landed on nearby houses, killing at least 10 civilians and injuring several others,” he added.

Yemeni security official said the blast destroyed three houses nearby. A number of other houses were also damaged.

On January 28, eight Yemeni soldiers were killed and 10 others injured in a bomb attack at a military checkpoint in the southern city of Radda in Bayda Province. Yemeni officials said the attack was likely a retaliatory move by al-Qaeda affiliates after Yemeni forces stormed them in the area.

Over the past months, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has expanded their presence in Yemen.

Al-Qaeda loyalists have also 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.