SANAA (AFP) — The suicide bomber who killed nine soldiers in Aden, Yemen’s main southern city, was a Saudi member of Al-Qaeda, the official Saba news agency on Monday quoted an interior ministry official as saying.

“The suicide bomber who carried out the attack was Turki Saad Mohammed Qulays al-Shahrani,” the official said, according to Saba, referring to Sunday’s bombing in the port city.

Shahrani was “a Saudi national, explosives expert and a member of Al-Qaeda,” Saba quoted the official as saying.

Soldiers said that the bomber detonated a pickup truck at the entrance of a military camp in Aden, and that the blast tore through military vehicles as they were leaving.

A military source on Sunday put the toll at nine soldiers dead and 21 wounded, while the defence ministry’s news service in a text message said the blast killed four soldiers and wounded 21.