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Yemen suicide attack 'kills dozens' in Aden | |
(35 minutes later) | |
At least 40 people have been killed in a suicide bombing at a military facility in the southern Yemen city of Aden, officials say. | |
A training camp, or compound used by the pro-government Popular Resistance militia, was hit, reports say. | |
The attack comes amid a fresh push to end Yemen's 17-month-old war between Saudi-backed government and rebels. | |
The UN says more than 6,600 people, mainly civilians, have been killed in the fighting. | |
Some 2.5 million Yemenis have also been displaced. | |
It is unclear who was behind Monday's attack, though bombings in the southern port city are often carried out by militants from al-Qaeda or so-called Islamic State (IS). | |
Other reports to news agencies from medical sources put the death toll higher - between 45 and 60. | |
Agence France-Presse also reported that the attack was a suicide car bombing. | |
Meanwhile, the government and rebels have responded positively to a new Gulf-backed initiative to end the conflict. | |
The plan, announced last week by the US, calls for the withdrawal of Shia Houthi rebels from the capital, Sanaa, and talks on forming a unity government. | |
The rebels said they were prepared to restart negotiations, provided the Saudi-led coalition stopped attacking and laying siege to territories held by them. | |
The latest round of peace talks in Kuwait collapsed earlier this month. | |
The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes in Yemen since March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. | |
The campaign began after the Houthi rebels, backed by supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, took over parts of the country, including Sanaa, forcing the government into exile. | |
The government and its allies have since retaken Aden. Saudi Arabia says the Houthis are supported financially and militarily by its regional rival Iran - something Tehran denies. |