Twin suicide bombings rock mosque in Yemen
SANAA—Two suicide bombers killed at least 10 people at a mosque run by Yemen’s Houthi group on Thursday in the capital Sanaa, medics and witnesses said.
The attacks came just as Muslim worshippers were celebrating the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack at al-Balili mosque just outside the old city of Sanaa. But it appeared to resemble previous bombings by Islamic State that have killed hundreds of Zaydis—a branch of Shiite Islam that the militant group considered to be heretical.
The Iran-allied Houthis seized Sanaa a year ago and forced President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi into exile in Saudi Arabia.
Since March, the Western-allied kingdom has led an Arab alliance trying to restore Hadi to power and drive the Houthis back to their northern stronghold. Islamic State has used the resulting conflict to expand its operations in the country.
Houthi fighters sealed off the area where the explosions occurred.
It was the second attack targeting a mosque run by the Zaydi group—part of the Muslim Shiite sect—this month.
Witnesses said the first blast shook the mosque soon after worshippers gathered for Eid prayers. A second suicide bomber detonated his explosives when Houthi guards tried to stop him rushing inside the mosque.
Arab media have put the death toll at at least 25.
Muslims celebrate Eid alAdha— the feast of sacrifice—in congregation at mosques.
The Islamic State claimed several bombings targeting mosques run by the Houthi group in recent months.
Earlier this month, at least 28 people were killed and 75 were wounded in two suicide bombings claimed by the Islamist militant group’s Yemen branch targeting a mosque in northern Sanaa.
In March, Islamic State suicide bombers killed at least 137 worshippers and wounded hundreds more in coordinated attacks at two mosques during Friday prayers in Sanaa.