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.”
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
RSS