At least 10 Muslim worshippers performing Eid al-Adha prayers
were killed on Thursday when an Islamic State suicide bomber disguised as a
woman blew himself up at a mosque run by Yemen's Houthi group, security sources
said.
In northern Yemen, residents said warplanes from
the Arab coalition conducting air raids against the Houthis struck a house in
Hajjah province, killing six members of the same family, including four
children. Two other people were wounded in the attack, residents reached by
telephone said.
Islamic State's branch in Yemen said the attack at al-Balili
mosque, just outside the Old City of Sanaa, had killed or wounded dozens of
"rejectionists". The Sunni militant group uses that term to describe
Shi'ite Muslims it deems to be heretics.
"In a security operation facilitated by God as part of the
acts of revenge for Muslims from the rejectionist Houthis, brother Abu Omar
al-Hadidi waded into a crowd of apostate Houthis at al-Balili temple, detonated
his suicide belt causing dozens to perish or to be injured...," the
statement said.
Medics said at least 36 other people were wounded. A Houthi
website gave a death toll of at least 10, while Arab media said it was at least
25.
The Houthis, allies of Iran, seized Sanaa a year ago and forced
President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile in Saudi Arabia. Since March, the
Western-allied Saudis have led an Arab coalition trying to restore Hadi to
power and drive the Houthis back to their northern stronghold.
More than 4,500
people have been killed in the conflict, which Islamic State has exploited to
expand its operations.
WITNESSES
Witnesses
had earlier described a twin suicide attack on the mosque, where worshippers
were celebrating Eid al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice.
Nayef, who
lives nearby, said he heard one explosion followed quickly by a second.
"We gathered to rescue the wounded. The situation is very painful and
blood is everywhere."
The
witnesses said the first blast shook the mosque soon after worshippers gathered
for prayers. A second suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt when Houthi
guards tried to stop him rushing deep inside the mosque.
Houthi
fighters sealed off the area and shouted at onlookers to stay away.
It was the
second attack in the capital this month to target a mosque run by the Shi'ite
Zaydi group. On Sept. 2, at least 28 people were killed and 75 wounded in twin
suicide bombings claimed by Islamic State at 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.
Saudi-owned
al-Arabiya television said on Thursday at least 40 Houthis were killed while
trying to sneak into a Saudi village across the border with Yemen. The
satellite channel showed photos of at least three dead fighters it said had
been killed near the village of Hathera in Jizan province.
The Houthis
did not comment on the report.
(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari in
Sanaa and Omar Fahmy in Cairo; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Jon Boyle)
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