Two car bomb explosions killed at least six people and wounded 43 others including civilians on Saturday in Yemen's southern city of Aden, security officials and witnesses said, in an attack later claimed by the Daesh terrorist group.
The explosions targeted the site of an anti-terrorism military camp with detention facilities for suspected militants, the officials said, adding that those killed included three civilians and three security personnel. They said that the casualties were taken to hospitals for treatment.
The Daesh terrorist group's statement, carried by its Aamaq news agency, said two suicide bomb attacks had struck the anti-terrorism camp in Aden.
"The explosions terrified dozens of families living in the area who rushed to the street to look for their children," eyewitness Gamal Mahdi told The Associated Press. He added that the explosions resulted in multiple causalities, including civilians, and were followed by heavy gunfire.
Ali al-Saya, a member of the separatist Southern Transitional Council, told the Associated Press that one of the explosions targeted an office at the STC, which is also the residence of Aden's former governor Aidrous al-Zubaidi. The office is situated close to the anti-terrorism camp. Al-Zubaidi was not present when the bomb went off.
Other witnesses said that militants tried to storm the camp before the explosion but failed. Photos surfaced following the explosion showing the charred vehicles and clouds of heavy smoke hovering over the area.
The witnesses and officials spoke on condition of anonymity either because they feared retaliation or were not authorized to brief the media.
The bombings come after deadly clashes in Aden last month that saw southern separatists seize much of the strategic coastal city from the Saudi-backed government.
Yemen has been the base of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government since it was forced out of the capital Sanaa in 2014 by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia lead a military coalition that has fought alongside the Hadi's forces since 2015 in a war against the Houthis from north Yemen that has left more than 9,200 people dead.