Suicide bomber kills 96 soldiers in Yemen capital

A suicide bomber detonated himself at a military parade rehearsal on Monday in the capital of Yemen, killing 96 soldiers in one of the deadliest attacks the city has seen in years, officials say. Al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch claimed responsibility for the attack saying, “This is the work of al-Qaeda.” In an e-mail, the group said it targeted the Minister of Defense, Major General Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, who arrived at the heavily secured city square to greet the assembled troops just minutes before the bomb tore through the area.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula vowed, “This is only the beginning of Jihad,” and said its militants will continue staging attacks against Yemini leadership. The terrorist group also said the bombing was meant to take revenge for the government’s military offensive in a swath of southern Yemen seized by the militant movement last year. A statement in the name of President Abd al-Rab Mansur al-Hadi of Yemen read on state TV said, “The war on terrorism will continue until we win, whatever the sacrifices are.”