Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot that has seized large areas of Iraq and Syria, has claimed responsibility for suicide bomb attacks on two mosques used mainly by Shi’ite Muslims in Yemen on Friday, a statement on Twitter showed.
At least 87 people were killed and 260 people were wounded in the blasts in the capital Sanaa. Both mosques are known to be used mainly by supporters of the Shi’ite Muslim Houthi group which has seized control
of the government.
The Sanaa bombings happened as unidentified warplanes attacked the presidential palace in the southern city of Aden for the second day.
Anti-aircraft guns fired on two planes which dropped bombs on an area that includes the residence of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. He was unharmed, sources at the presidency said.
Yemen is torn by a power struggle between the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the north and Hadi, who has set up a rival power base in the south backed by Sunni-led Gulf Arab states.
The mosques in Sanaa are known to be used mainly by supporters of the Shi’ite Muslim Houthi group, which controls most of northern Yemen, including Sanaa.
The rise to power of the Houthis since September last year has deepened divisions in Yemen’s complex web of political and religious allegiances.
Reuters
