By Shukri Hussein

ADEN, (AA): At least 48 soldiers were killed in Yemen’s southern city of Aden late Saturday in a suicide bombing claimed by the Daesh group.

The explosion occurred as soldiers gathered to collect their salaries at the gate of the Sawlaban base on the outskirts of Aden.

The Yemeni Command of the General Chief of Staff said the attack has killed 48 soldiers and injured 31 others.

“The ugly terrorist attack aims to appease the forces of evil, trigger chaos and bloodshed and disrupt public life in liberated areas,” it said in a statement.

The Daesh terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

In a statement circulated by supporters on social media, the militant group said a bomber had blown himself up among army soldiers in the city.

Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, for his part, has ordered an investigation into the bombing, a presidential source told Anadolu Agency.

Aden is currently the temporary seat of the Yemeni government, which was forced to flee the capital Sanaa in late 2014 after Houthi rebels overran the capital and other provinces.

Last year, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and restoring the embattled government.

Two rounds of UN-backed peace talks have failed to resolve the raging conflict, in which thousands of Yemenis are believed to have been killed and an estimated 2.5 million forced to flee their homes.

[Map of Yemen Public Domain]