A suicide bomber blew himself up near a cinema in the Yemeni port city of Aden on Saturday, killing one person and wounding three others, residents and a local official said.

 

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing in Aden's Crater district, which was carried out by an attacker wearing an explosive belt.

 

Islamist militants, including the Islamic State group, have exploited an 18-month civil war between a Saudi-backed exiled Yemeni government and the Houthi movement to carve out influence in southern Yemen, where they have been recruiting new followers and launching attacks on military targets and senior officials.

 

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the assassination of two security officers killed in Aden earlier this week, the group said on Friday via its Telegram account.

 

In August, a suicide bomber killed at least 54 people when he drove a car bomb into a militia compound in Aden in one of the deadliest attacks claimed by Islamic State in the southern port city.