The United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack on the army recruitment center in Aden today, which has killed scores and left more wounded. We offer our sincere condolences to the families and other loved ones of those killed, just as our thoughts are with the wounded. The restoration of stability in Yemen is vital to prevent groups like al-Qaida and ISIL, which has claimed responsibility for the attack, from taking further steps to exploit the political and security vacuum in the country.  It is critical for the parties in Yemen to bring a halt to the fighting as soon as possible and finalize an agreement through the United Nations-facilitated process that achieves a lasting peace with support from the region and the international community more broadly.