Al-Qaida Says Yemen Suicide Bombing Was 'Revenge'

Al-Qaida says a suicide bomber’s attack in Yemen that killed at least 96 troops and wounded more than 200 on Monday was revenge for what it called a U.S.-backed war on its followers.

Yemeni officials say a suspected rogue soldier detonated the explosives as hundreds of fellow troops were lining up for a military parade rehearsal in the capital, Sana’a. The soldiers were preparing for a parade on Tuesday to mark the unification of Yemen’s north and south.

Al-Qaida’s Yemen-based affiliate said the attack was aimed at top Yemeni commanders. It came during a U.S.-backed Yemeni government offensive against militants who seized southern regions last year, as the country was engulfed in an uprising against then-president Ali Abdullah Saleh