At least 35 Yemeni soldiers were killed and more than 60 others wounded in a major attack Saturday on forces allied to a Saudi-led military campaign.

Though no group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, extremists from the so-called "Islamic State" have claimed responsibility for most attacks in recent months mainly targeting security forces.

The explosion happened near a military camp in the northeastern part area of Al-Sawlaban near the city's international airport as a crowd of soldiers gathered to pick up their salaries, an official told the German news agency DPA on condition of anonymity.

Aden, the provisional capital of Yemen's Saudi-backed government, is at the center of a civil war with the Iran-allied Houthi rebels.

Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen's civil war in March 2015 to fight the government's foes in the Iran-allied Houthi movement but has failed to dislodge the group from the capital, Sanaa, despite thousands of airstrikes. About 10,000 people have been killed in the ongoing conflict.

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jbh/sms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)