Yemen parade blast claims 90 lives A SUICIDE bomber with explosives strapped under his uniform killed more than 90 people at a military parade rehearsal in the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday, an attack which will alarm Washington as its involvement in the front-line state deepens. Yemeni president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, facing a growing campaign by an al-Qaeda affiliate in the country, said security forces would become "tougher and more determined in pursuing terrorist elements." Yemen's defence minister and chief of staff were both present at the rehearsal for today's National Day parade but neither was hurt. A police source said he could not rule out the bombing as an attempt to assassinate them. The explosion in Sanaa's Sabaeen Square left scenes of carnage, with bloodied victims and body parts strewn across the 10-lane road where the rehearsal was held yesterday morning, not far from the presidential palace. The defence ministry said at least 90 soldiers were killed and 222 wounded. We had just finished the parade. We were saluting our commander when a huge explosion went off," said soldier Amr Habib. It was a gruesome attack. Many soldiers were killed and others had their arms and legs blown off. Weakened by an uprising that eventually toppled former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's government has lost control over whole areas of the country, allowing militants to overrun towns in the southern province of Abyan. The attack, along with an ambush on Sunday on a United States military training team, indicated their campaign could be entering a dangerous new stage. The US sees Yemen as a vital front in its war on Islamic militants and is increasing its support for the new government. The US military has itself targeted militants in Yemen using drones, which have frequently killed civilians and are deeply resented by Yemenis, even the many who abhor al-Qaeda. A US military instructor was seriously wounded in Sunday's ambush, claimed by militant group Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), which is affiliated to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The same group also claimed responsibility for the military parade suicide attack, saying it was in response to the "crimes" of the security forces, which are fighting to dislodge militants from their strongholds in Abyan. One investigator said preliminary findings suggested the suicide bomber was a rogue soldier rather than a man in a disguise. The suicide bomber was dressed in a military uniform. He had a belt of explosives underneath," said a man who identified himself as Colonel Amin al-Alghabati, his hands and uniform flecked with blood. The usual security procedure for such an event would involve checks on the soldiers at their bases before they are transported to the site of the parade in army vehicles. "Hadi is serious about the confrontation, but he does not have a grip on the whole security apparatus, security services and the army in order to succeed," said Saeed Obaid, a Yemeni researcher into Islamist groups.