As many as 49 Yemeni soldiers were killed and up to 60 people injured after a suicide bomber detonated explosives in the southern port city of Aden, military officials said on Sunday (18 December).

The attacker targeted soldiers who had gathered to collect their salaries at the Al Solban military base in northeastern Aden. According to CNN, the attacker was dressed as a military personnel, which allowed him to enter the base.

Islamic State (Isis) issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. According to a report from Reuters, the terror group claimed it killed around 70 "apostates". It also identified the suicide bomber as Abu Hashem al-Radfani.

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In a similar attack on 10 December, 45 soldiers were killed and 40 others wounded.

Yemeni officials are pressing on with a campaign against extremists who are active in the east and south of the country. Jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State (Isis) have exploited two years of war between the government and Houthi rebels to establish a presence in the south of the impoverished country.

Islamist groups such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State (Isis) have exploited two years of war between the government and Houthi rebels to establish a presence in the south of the impoverished country.

Meanwhile, al-Qaeda had denied it carried out the 10 December attack, saying it did not shed Muslim blood as its fight is against America and its allies. Al-Qaeda has been a dominant extremist force in Yemen, but according to analysts, IS (Daesh) is surging ahead.

The two groups have reportedly carried out a wave of bombings in Aden and at the UN-recognised government's headquarters, which were captured from the Houthi rebels last year.

A Saudi-led coalition has allegedly carried out air strikes on Houthi rebels since it ousted the government from power in March 2015.

Aden suicide attack
A wounded Yemeni man arrives at a hospital after a suicide bomber killed 45 soldiers and wounded around 40 others at a military camp in the southern city of Aden on 10 December Saleh al-Obeidi/AFP

The coalition staged an intervention after rebels along with troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh captured capital Sana'a and overtook other parts of the country. At least 7,000 people have been killed in the Yemen war.