First commercial ship since March arrives in Yemen’s Aden

Several bombs exploded outside a building used by the intelligence services in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on Saturday, causing fires to break out but no casualties, a local official said.

The four dead were bodyguards for the governor, according to Aden security chief General Mohammed al-Musaed.

The four-storey building in the Tawahi neighbourhood of Aden was razed by the blast which occurred at around 6 am (0300 GMT) and which could be heard across the city, residents said.

Last month, pro-Hadi forces, backed by a US-led air coalition, drove the Iran-backed Houthi rebels out of Aden, marking the biggest setback for the mostly Shiite rebels in months.

Bakri is known for his close ties to the Islamist Al-Islah Party.

The building was a vital part of the power base of exiled President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi, who fled Yemen for Saudi Arabia in March.

“These elements have since (the start of) August destroyed or removed secret police files in Aden”, the official said.

“The educators were gathered together to prepare exams for thousands of children who had missed the end of their school year because of this brutal conflict”, the agency said.

Also on Friday, Doctors Without Borders appealed to fighters on all sides to halt attacks on civilians after more than 65 people were killed in Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city.

On Wednesday, the top UN aid official strongly criticised Saudi-led air strikes on the Yemeni port of Hodeida, a lifeline for imports of food, medicine and fuel.