A suicide bomber from a local affiliate of ISIL has killed at least 48 Yemeni soldiers at a military base in the southern port city of Aden, in another major attack claimed by the group.

A security official told Reuters news agency that the suicide bomber detonated his explosives on Saturday as troops were waiting to collect their salaries at the entrance to the Sawlaban base on the outskirts of Aden.

Another 30 people were reportedly wounded in the attack.

ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Amaq, a news agency that supports the group also known as ISIS.

However, Aden al-Ghad, a local news website, said the men were not soldiers but young men registering to take part in a government offensive to break the siege of Yemen's second largest city, Taiz.

For 18 months, more than 200,000 civilians have been caught up in the fighting in Taiz, where Iran-allied Houthi fighters have restricted food and medical deliveries to the city.

The port city, the temporary base of Yemen's government, has seen a wave of bombings and shootings targeting officials and security forces.

PHOTO CAPTION

Shi'ite Houthi rebels man a checkpoint at the southern entrance to the city of Sanaa November 15, 2014

Al-Jazeera