The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a car bombing in Yemen that killed the governor of Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Sunday. The Islamic State declared its presence in Yemen in November and has since carried out multiple attacks. File photo by Anees Mahyoub/UPI
ADEN, Yemen, Dec. 6 (UPI) — The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a car bombing in Yemen that killed the governor of Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on Sunday.Jaafar Mohammed Saad and multiple aides reportedly died when a car filled with explosives detonated as their political convoy drove by. Saad was appointed as Aden’s governor in October and was also a close ally of Yemeni President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who met with a United Nations peace envoy on Saturday.The Islamic State’s involvement in the conflict will complicate peace efforts in Yemen as the U.N. hopes to organize talks between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels, who support former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.Saad, who served as a general in Yemen’s army, was seen as a significant government figure who played a role in driving Houthi rebels out of Aden earlier this year. The Yemeni government has been trying to establish Aden as a base of operations after spending months of exile in Saudi Arabia.The Islamic State declared its presence in Yemen in November and has since carried out multiple attacks.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels overthrew the democratically-elected government in January and are now under siege from airstrikes and a ground campaign, led by Saudi Arabia, involving an international coalition of military personnel and equipment. The fighting has killed at least 5,700 people since March, the United Nations reported.
