A suicide bomber dressed in uniform detonated a bomb during a military parade rehearsal in Sana'a Yemen today, killing at least 96 soldiers.

Striking in the capitol, the attack occured near the nerve center of power in the country. Stephen Steinbeiser, the head of the American Institute for Yemeni Studies made a statement on the blast. “I’m hearing it was a bomber who was dressed like a soldier and who was basically able to infiltrate the central security forces whose job it is to fight al-Qaida and they did this in the heart of the capital at the main parade grounds while the minister of defense was observing, right next to the presidential compound,” Steinbeiser said. “This sends a very, very strong message.” Many Yemenis, he said, oppose al-Qaida, but months of economic and political turmoil “make it easier to recruit for their militant, extremist ideology.”

At least another 200 were wounded in the blast. The rehearsal was for tommorrow’s parade marking the unification of Yemen’s north and south.

Video shows scores of soldiers sprawled around the parade area, and body parts strewn throughout the blast zone. An Al-Qaida affiliate, Ansar al-Sharia, has come forward to claim responsibility for the attack. They are saying that the bombing was retaliation for the Yemeni army’s attacks and U.S. drone strikes in the southern part of the country.

“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.”

Attacks in that country have increased since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi replaced Saleh in February. Hadi was to be in attendance at tomorrow’s parade.