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IS Claims Deadly Yemen Attacks

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Smoke rises following an explosion that hit Hotel al-Qasr where Cabinet members and other government officials are staying, in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, Oct. 6, 2015.
Smoke rises following an explosion that hit Hotel al-Qasr where Cabinet members and other government officials are staying, in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, Oct. 6, 2015.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks on government headquarters and positions of the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemeni port city of Aden.

In a statement posted online, the militant group said it carried out four suicide bombings against the targets, contradicting accounts from officials that the attacks involved rockets fired by Iranian-backed Shi'ite Houthi rebels.

The United Arab Emirates said rocket attacks Tuesday in Aden killed 15 troops, including Yemeni forces and members of the Saudi-led coalition backing them.

The official WAM news agency had blamed the attacks on Houthi rebels that have been battling Yemen's government for more than a year. The UAE is a member of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels.

Separately, at least six people were killed in an explosion near a mosque in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a.

Yemeni officials and residents said the assailants fired multiple rocket-propelled grenades in Aden, including one at the gate of a hotel used by Yemen's leaders since they returned from exile in Saudi Arabia in July. Another rocket targeted a housing area for pro-government Gulf troops.

Yemen's Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and other officials were said to be unhurt in the attack.

The government of President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi fled to Aden a year ago after the Houthis took over the capital, Sana'a, then went to Saudi Arabia in March after the Houthis swept south and seized Aden as well.

Saudi Arabia began leading a coalition conducting airstrikes in support of Hadi, and after several months pro-government fighters pushed the Houthis out of Aden, allowing Hadi and other officials to return.

Some information for this report came from AP, AFP and Reuters.

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