Dead and wounded in an explosion near Aden airport, south of Yemen

An official in the government forces in Aden said that "12 people were killed in an explosion that occurred near the first gate in the vicinity of the Aden International Airport building," adding that all the dead were "civilians."

A number of civilians were killed Saturday in an explosion in the vicinity of Aden airport in the war-torn south of Yemen.

A senior government security official told Agence France-Presse that 12 people were killed, while Anadolu Agency quoted a media source as saying that 10 people were killed, but the causes of the explosion were not yet clear.

Aden Airport media official, Adel Hamran, told Anadolu Agency, "A small bus exploded in front of the airport gate in the city of Khor Maksar, killing more than 10 people and wounding 20."

A security source at the airport had told Anadolu Agency earlier that the explosion "caused the death of 4 people and the injury of 10 others, in an initial toll", before the number increased.

The source, who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to tell the media, added that the explosion "also caused the burning of a number of cars parked in front of the airport and others that were driving in the place."

In the context, eyewitnesses said in separate conversations with the Anatolia correspondent, that ambulances and firefighters rushed to the site of the accident, amid panic and panic among citizens and residents of nearby houses.

In turn, the Islah party, the largest Islamist party in the country, called on the legitimate government to take measures to protect the temporary capital, Aden, from the security threat.

In a tweet via Twitter, Adnan Al-Adini, deputy head of the party's media department, said: "We condemn the bombing in the city of Aden, and we call on the government to take measures that rise to the level of dealing with the recurring security threat in the interim capital, Aden."

A video by Agence France-Presse showed men dragging a body from the rubble, burning cars, and firefighters working to put out fires.

In turn, the Yemeni Prime Minister directed the opening of an urgent investigation into the circumstances of the bombing, which occurred in front of the main gate of Aden Airport.

The city of Aden, the interim capital of the internationally recognized government, has witnessed several bloody bombings in recent years, attributed to the Houthis who control the capital, Sanaa, and large areas in the north and west of the impoverished country, or adopted by extremist groups, including the Islamic State.

On the tenth of this October, six people were killed in a car bomb explosion targeting a convoy carrying officials in Aden, according to security sources who explained that the officials survived the explosion.

Aden airport was the target of a ballistic missile attack on December 30.

At the time, the attack targeted the airport building when members of the new Yemeni government arrived and led to the deaths of at least 26 people, including three employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross and a journalist.

Yemen, the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula, has witnessed a bloody conflict since 2014 between forces loyal to the internationally recognized government and Houthi rebels.

The conflict witnessed an escalation with the intervention of Saudi Arabia at the head of a military coalition in March 2015 to stop the progress of the Houthis after their control of Sanaa, and to support the government forces.

The conflict has caused a collapse in the health, economy, education and other sectors in the country, while more than 3.3 million displaced people live in schools and camps where diseases such as cholera are spreading due to the lack of clean water.

It also resulted in the killing of tens of thousands, according to international organizations. Yemen is witnessing the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the United Nations.

The attack in Aden comes at a time when the rebels have launched an offensive since last February to seize the city of Marib, the last stronghold of the recognized government in northern Yemen, in a campaign in which thousands of people were killed on both sides.