Suicide bombers have attacked two mosques in the Yemeni capital during the rush for Friday prayers, killing 137 people and injuring 345 others, sources told Al Jazeera.
Three blasts were heard in two central mosques used by Houthi Shia Muslims, sources said.
A report on the Houthi-funded Al-Masirah TV channel said the bombers attacked the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques during midday prayers on Friday.
According to witnesses, one of the suicide bombers detonated his explosives inside the Badr mosque, causing panic as dozens of worshippers rushed toward the outside gates.
A second bomber then attacked amid the panicked crowds trying to escape.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) armed group, an offshoot of al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attacks on Twitter. It threatened that these attacks were "only a part of the coming flood".
However, Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan said that intelligence experts believe ISIL's claim was questionable, saying they suspect either al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) or anti-Houthi fighters were behind the attacks.
Nadwa Dawsari, a conflict analyst, said that it is "highly unlikely" that ISIL carried out the attack, and that it was politically motivated.
"I really don't buy the ISIL propaganda [...] Yemen doesn't have the grounds for ISIL, at least not yet. I think these attacks were politically motivated and whoever ordered them want people to believe its ISIL to achieve political goals"................http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/03/suicide-bomber-hits-mosques-yemen-capital-150320103444485.html21/3/15
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Three blasts were heard in two central mosques used by Houthi Shia Muslims, sources said.
A report on the Houthi-funded Al-Masirah TV channel said the bombers attacked the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques during midday prayers on Friday.
According to witnesses, one of the suicide bombers detonated his explosives inside the Badr mosque, causing panic as dozens of worshippers rushed toward the outside gates.
A second bomber then attacked amid the panicked crowds trying to escape.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) armed group, an offshoot of al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attacks on Twitter. It threatened that these attacks were "only a part of the coming flood".
However, Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan said that intelligence experts believe ISIL's claim was questionable, saying they suspect either al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) or anti-Houthi fighters were behind the attacks.
Nadwa Dawsari, a conflict analyst, said that it is "highly unlikely" that ISIL carried out the attack, and that it was politically motivated.
"I really don't buy the ISIL propaganda [...] Yemen doesn't have the grounds for ISIL, at least not yet. I think these attacks were politically motivated and whoever ordered them want people to believe its ISIL to achieve political goals"................http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/03/suicide-bomber-hits-mosques-yemen-capital-150320103444485.html21/3/15
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Multiple suicide bombings claimed by ISIS killed at least 142 people and wounded around 351 others Friday at Shiite mosques in Yemen’s capital in the deadliest violence to hit the fragile war-torn nation in decades...
ReplyDeleteA group claiming to be a Yemeni branch of ISIS said it carried out the bombings and warned of an “upcoming flood” of attacks against the Houthi rebels, who have taken over the capital and much of Yemen. The claim, posted online, could not immediately be independently confirmed and offered no proof of an ISIS role.
If true, Friday’s bombing would be the first major attack by ISIS supporters in Yemen and an ominous sign that the influence of the group that holds much of Iraq and Syria has spread to the chaotic nation. The claim was posted on the same Web bulletin board where the ISIS affiliate in Libya claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s deadly attack on a museum in Tunisia...............http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Mar-21/291666-carnage-claimed-by-isis-deepens-yemens-wounds.ashx
21/3/15