Attacks claimed by EI kill 15 soldiers in Yemen

Abu Dhabi, Oct 6, 2015 (AFP) - The Yemeni government and the anti-rebel Arab coalition, said to have pacified Aden suffered on Tuesday a serious setback in the city, attacks stage claimed by the Islamic State that left 15 dead soldiers.

The EI group claimed Tuesday suicide bombings against a hotel and military centers in Aden, in southern Yemen.

This claim included in one of EI online statement contradicts the version given by Yemeni authorities and the Arab coalition that previously spoke of rocket attacks, not suicide, and attributed responsibility to Huthis rebels, backed by Iran.

Previously, the official news agency WAM UAE had claimed that rocket attacks were launched against Aden hotel where Prime Minister Khaled Bahah, and members of his government were staying, as well as against military installations.

Bahah, who is also vice president, "is in good health and has not been achieved," he told AFP the Minister of Youth and Sports, Nayef al-Bakri.

Attacks "criminal militias (rebels) Huthis and the forces of (former president of Yemen Ali Abdullah) Saleh killed 15 coalition soldiers and the Yemeni resistance," wrote the agency of the United Arab Emirates, one of the pillars of the Arab coalition under mandate Saudi.

Simultaneously, two other facilities in the hands of Arab-Sunni coalition were attacked by two rockets, according to this version.

Among the victims there are four Emirati military, according to military sources quoted by WAM. The Emirates have lost 63 soldiers in Yemen since the beginning of the coalition's intervention in March.

These attacks illustrate the persistent insecurity in the south, recovered by government forces last summer (northern hemisphere) before the Huthis.

Gulf officials said last week that Aden had been pacified and was safe, while elsewhere in the country are continuing fierce fighting between government forces and rebels.

Bahah and members of his government settled in Aden in September after six months in exile in Saudi Arabia.

Later, on September 23, President Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi also returned.

Aden and other four southern provinces were taken from the rebels by government forces and the troops of the Arab coalition, which came into Yemen to prevent Huthis take control of the entire country.

In total, more than 1.4 million people have been displaced by the war in Yemen.

Since the conflict began, 2,355 civilians were killed and 4,862 were injured, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who asked in early September an independent international investigation.