The victims of a bomb blast in Mukalla, Yemen, were queuing up to register as new police recruits when the bomb exploded. The suicide attack by Islamic State (Isis) killed at least 25 and wounded scores of others, security and medical sources said.

This was the second deadly explosion to hit the coastal city in four days, according to Reuters, which involved three bombings targeting army bases near Mukalla, leaving at least 15 Yemeni troops dead. The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for one of the attacks, which was a car bombing.

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Mukalla was seized by al-Qaeda in April 2015 before the group was expelled in April of this year by Yemeni forces assisted by a Saudi-led coalition. On 24 April, forces loyal to the resigned Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, backed by Emirati troops, retook Mukalla, the capital of the desert province of Hadhramaut. However, al-Qaeda retains a strong presence and still control several towns in the interior valley of Wadi Hadramawt.

Daesh claimed responsibility for the latest bomb blast on Amaq, its online news agency, saying that Sunday's attacker was a "martyrdom seeker" who had detonated his explosive belt and killed around 40 people in the attack.

Mubarak al-Awthaban, the city's security director, survived the attack as he was at a nearby office when the suicide bomber carried out his mission, security sources said.

Last week, the US military stated that it had deployed "a very small number" of personnel to aid Yemen's fight against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The US Navy is reported to have several ships nearby, including an amphibious assault vessel, USS Boxer and two destroyers.

US Secretary of State John Kerry met King Salman of Arabia on Sunday, 15 May, for discussions on the Yemeni conflict as well as the ongoing crisis in Libya and Syria. The armed struggle in Yemen has displaced 2 million people since 2011.

Isis Islamic State ISIL