SANAA, Yemen (MCT) — A rehearsal for a military parade to mark Yemen’s national day turned into a scene of carnage Monday when a suicide bomber blew himself up near the presidential palace, killing nearly 100 soldiers and wounding scores more in one of the deadliest attacks in this conflict-wracked nation’s recent history.

Ansar al-Shariah, a Yemen-based militant group with links to al-Qaida, took responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement that it was retaliation for an offensive that Yemeni government forces are waging against militants in the country’s restive south.