Multiple apparent suicide bombings claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least 142 people on Friday at Shiite mosques in Yemen’s capital — one of the strife-torn nation’s deadliest extremist attacks.
The killings are the first claimed by the group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Yemen and represent a strong show of force by the group in a nation where rival al-Qaeda is the most prominent extremist organization, and which reacted by saying it would not attack mosques.
Charred corpses and pools of blood were seen at the site of the blasts, which targeted supporters of the Houthi Shiite militia that has seized control of the capital, Sana’a.
Photo: AFP
Worshipers rushed the wounded to hospitals in pickup trucks, while others removed mutilated corpses.
One suspected suicide bomber struck inside Badr Mosque in southern Sana’a, while another targeted worshipers as they fled outside, witnesses said.
A third suspected suicide bomber targeted al-Hashush mosque in northern Sana’a, while a fourth struck outside the mosque, according to the Saba news agency, which is now controlled by the Houthis.
Nashwan al-Atab, a member of the Yemeni Ministry of Health’s operations committee, told reporters that 142 people were killed and at least 351 wounded.
Houthi TV said hospitals had made urgent appeals for blood donations.
The imam of the Badr Mosque was killed, a medical source said.
Another suspected suicide bomber was involved in a blast up outside a mosque in the northern Saada Governorate, a source close to the Houthis said.
Only the assailant was killed, and tight security at the mosque prevented the suspect from going inside, the source added.
In an online statement, the Sana’a branch of the Islamic State group said the attacks were “just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Infidel Houthis should know that the soldiers of the Islamic State will not rest until they eradicate them... and cut off the arm of the Safavid [Iranian] plan in Yemen,” the statement said.
The Houthis are accused of receiving support from Iran. The Islamic State group, a radical Sunni Muslim organization, considers Shiites to be heretics.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula issued a statement saying that it had nothing to do with the bombings.
“We stress that we abide by the instructions of Sheik Ayman al-Zawahiri, to avoid targeting mosques and markets... to protect the lives of innocent Muslims,” it said.
The Houthis overran Sana’a in September last year and have since tightened their grip on power.
Their attempts to extend their control into other areas have been met by deadly resistance from Sunni tribes and al-Qaeda, which is the target of a long-standing US drone strike campaign.
The US condemned the mosque bombings, but said it could not confirm the veracity of the Islamic State claim of responsibility.
“We deplore the brutality of the terrorists who perpetrated today’s unprovoked attack on Yemeni citizens, who were peacefully engaged in Friday prayers,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Friday.
However, there is not, as yet, a “clear operational” link between Yemeni extremists and the Islamic State group acting n Syria and Iraq, he added.
Yemen’s embattled president said the bombings were aimed at dragging the nation into “chaos, violence and internal fighting.”
Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has taken refuge in the southern city of Aden, having escaped Sana’a last month.
In a letter to the families of the victims, he condemned the attacks as “terrorist, criminal and cowardly.”
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