ADEN, Yemen, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Death toll in twin suicide attacks which rocked the headquarters of the counter-terrorism forces in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Saturday has risen to six.
Medical sources at the Basuheeb Military Hospital told Xinhua that "at least six soldiers were killed and nearly 43 others injured, mostly civilians, as a result of the explosions."
According to the sources "most of the injured were civilians and children who were sitting with their families on the beach of GoldMor area, where the explosions happened."
An Aden-based government source said that the first suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car and targeted the main gate of a compound held by the counter-terrorism forces backed by the United Arab Emirates in Aden's neighborhood of Tawahi.
The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that another attacker drove his explosives-laden car and managed to enter the anti-terror base, causing the second explosion.
Witnesses near the scene confirmed to Xinhua that heavy exchange of gunfire erupted shortly after the twin explosions that rocked the city.
A police source said that the two explosions took place near the compound of the pro-secesssion Southern Transitional Council in Aden.
He said that the security forces manning the STC compound located near the headquarters of the anti-terror troops repulsed a number of militants who were trying to storm the two buildings.
"A number of attackers tried to storm the buildings of the STC and the anti-terror troops but our soldiers fought them back and aborted the attack," the local police source added.
The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombings that struck the headquarters of the counter-terrorism forces in Aden.
The IS group with its official news agency, Amaq, said in a brief statement that "two jihadist operations hit the camp of the counter-terrorism troops in Aden."
The IS group mentioned no further details about the two explosions or the casualties.
The southern port city of Aden is considered as Yemen's temporary capital and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has based itself there since 2015.
During the past two years, the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and other terrorist groups including the Islamic State had an active presence in Yemen's southern part.
The impoverished Arab country has been locked into a civil war since the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including capital Sanaa, in 2014.
Saudi Arabia leads an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Iran-backed Houthi rebels forced him into exile.
The United Nations has listed Yemen as the country facing the world's number one humanitarian crisis, with seven million Yemenis on the brink of famine and cholera causing more than 2,000 deaths.
