142 Dead in Yemen Mosque Bombings Claimed by IS

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

Suicide bombings claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group killed at least 142 people Friday at mosques in the Yemeni capital, in an attack targeting Shiite worshipers including Huthi militiamen.

The multiple blasts were among the deadliest attacks yet in Yemen, which is grappling with growing instability and divisions along sectarian lines.

They came a day after clashes between forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and those allied with the Huthi Shiite militia in the southern city of Aden, where the leader fled last month.

The suicide bombers targeted two mosques attended by Huthis, who have seized the capital Sanaa.

One struck inside Badr mosque in southern Sanaa while another targeted worshipers as they fled outside, witnesses said.

A third suicide bomber targeted Al-Hashush mosque in northern Sanaa.

Nashwan al-Atab, a member of the health ministry's operations committee, told AFP that 142 people were killed and at least 351 were wounded.

The Huthi militia's Al-Massira television said hospitals in the capital had made urgent appeals for blood donations.

The imam of the Badr mosque was among the dead, a medical source said.

Footage aired by Al-Massira showed bodies lying in pools of blood outside the mosques, as worshipers rushed the wounded to hospitals in pick-up trucks.

Another suicide bomber blew himself up outside a mosque in the northern Huthi stronghold of Saada, a source close to the militia said.

Only the assailant was killed in that explosion, and tight security at the mosque prevented the bomber from going inside, the source added.

In an online statement, the previously unknown Sanaa branch of IS claimed the bombings and said they were "just the tip of the iceberg".

"Infidel Huthis 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 Huthis are accused of receiving support from Iran.

IS, a radical Sunni Muslim organization, considers Shiites to be heretics.

It is the first time that IS has claimed any attack in Yemen where Al-Qaida remains the most prominent jihadist group.

The Huthis overran Sanaa in September 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-Qaida.

Yemen, a front line state in the U.S. war on Al-Qaida, has descended into chaos since the 2012 ouster of longtime strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been accused of backing the Huthis.

Since fleeing to Aden last month, President Hadi has been struggling to reassert his authority, and violence has erupted there in recent days between forces loyal to him and to the Huthis.

A security official said Friday a top Yemeni officer linked to the Huthis had escaped an assassination bid near Aden overnight.

Four people were killed in an ambush on the Lahj-Taiz road, but General Abdel Hafedh al-Sakkaf, the special forces chief in Aden, escaped unharmed, said the official from Lahj.

"He escaped the assassination bid but a bodyguard was shot dead, while three others died when their vehicle overturned," the official said.

The attack came as Hadi loyalists tightened their control over Aden, where the situation was calm early Friday.

Troops loyal to Hadi and their allied Popular Committees paramilitary manned checkpoints, an AFP correspondent reported.

Hadi himself had to evacuate a presidential palace in Aden on Thursday after a fighter jet opened fire, hitting a nearby hill.

Separately, 11 people were killed Thursday when special forces fighters loyal to the Huthis tried to seize control of Aden's airport from Hadi loyalists, in fighting that forced its closure.

The airport reopened Friday with a flight to Sanaa.

Following the Huthi takeover of Sanaa, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries moved their embassies to Aden and several Western missions closed their doors in the capital for security reasons.

In other unrest, five people were killed as southern separatists attacked police centers in Lahj, a security official said, adding that the dead included three gunmen and two policemen.

Comments 27
Missing ArabDemocrat.com 20 March 2015, 15:30

No decent person should celebrate such an attack on a place of worship.

Thumb _mowaten_ 20 March 2015, 17:04

who said pajama.boy was a decent person? he's the scum of the earth, a hateful sectarian, a terrorist cheerleader.

Thumb _mowaten_ 20 March 2015, 17:52

why don't you STFU anoyme?

Thumb _mowaten_ 20 March 2015, 18:13

nobody sees al qaeda as "defenders of sunnis". they're saudi pawns, and saudi unleashed them to kill civilians because they cannot accept the idea that yemen freed itself from the saudi grip. this is textbook terrorism: killing innocent civilians indiscriminately for the sole purpose of blackmailing opponents.

now if you want to speak of hypocrite, you only have look at yourself in the mirror: it's very simple: either you reject killing innocents and civilians UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, or you start finding excuses, picking and choosing when it suits you. in which case you're already justifying terrorism.

Thumb _mowaten_ 20 March 2015, 18:16

and i'll tell you something more you cheap scum: if now houthis retaliated by killing innocent sunnis i'd be the first to condemn and reject it. that is simply wrong under any circumstance. i hope however that they catch as many qaeda chiefs as possible and give them the most awful deaths imaginable.

Thumb EagleDawn 20 March 2015, 18:21

The third Reich had its Joseph Goebbels and Hizbollah huthis have their mowaten:

“اكذب ثم اكذب ثم اكذب فلا بد من أن يصدق الناس في النهاية”
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”

Thumb ex-fpm 20 March 2015, 19:30

for someone who "claims" to be secular, it is quite amazing how much mowaten comes to the rescue and defense of the terrorist Yemeni Huthis. A hypocrite sectarian who fools nobody!

Thumb liberty 21 March 2015, 06:37

It is ironic when mowaten accuses others of being sectarians. Where were you when your hizb, iranian, iraqi, and afghani militias blew up mosques in Iraq and Yemen. Where were you when your huthi militias committed massacres in Yemen. But as someone already said "you are not fooling anybody".

Missing youssefhaddad 20 March 2015, 16:12

imagine what will be left of Jerusalem if the extremists from both sects of Islam fight over its control!

Thumb Mrowwe 20 March 2015, 17:24

Jerusalem isen't holy in shiaism. They believe masjid al aqsa is in heaven. The quds day charade is for political reasons to win over Muslims to theiranian project by using the popular Palestnian cause.

written by an ex-shia:
http://whysunni.tumblr.com/post/70664966858/shia-and-al-aqsa-mosque-shia-keep-acting-like

Missing youssefhaddad 20 March 2015, 16:14

Killing people praying in Mosques is their way to get to Allah.

Thumb chrisrushlau 20 March 2015, 17:15

Israel was dead in the water in 2010. Its body is starting to smell.

Thumb chrisrushlau 20 March 2015, 17:12

You're right to link Saudi Arabia's king and the US intelligence establishment. Israel cannot stand if racism becomes illegal. The entire house of cards of "mideast stability" must come tumbling down. Now, would you like it the hard way or the easy way?

Thumb Mystic 20 March 2015, 17:18

Rest in peace, to all the victims of this cowardly act.

Thumb Mystic 20 March 2015, 19:10

Yes, I send for you an email.

Thumb ex-fpm 20 March 2015, 19:31

he is looking for a job:)

Thumb liberty 21 March 2015, 06:40

Yes , I am also speculating why a loser such as you is so desperately seeking attention. Do you have some nuclear secrets you want to share with your manar?

Default-user-icon bb (Guest) 20 March 2015, 18:17

has anybody seen ali or rifaat eid?

Thumb joebustani 20 March 2015, 18:43

bless anyone person, entity, organization, brigade or country that inflicts pain and suffering, death, torture, and destruction upon the iranian sectarian terrorist militia and its members, supporters or followers wherever they may be.

Missing peace 20 March 2015, 18:45

bombing people is the most cowardish act of terror...whoever does it, it is just a sign of cowardice.

Default-user-icon speakteezy (Guest) 20 March 2015, 19:22

you have a point there @speakfreely

Thumb ex-fpm 20 March 2015, 19:33

judging by your alias, I am sure you do!

Thumb skeletor 20 March 2015, 20:45

Very busy day for my crew in yemen today. Had to fly in additional crews from Syria and Iraq to cope with the influx of huthis. They came in by the truck loads and now finally they are resting.

Thumb skeletor 20 March 2015, 20:51

My branch in Qalamoun just sent me 18 resistance warriors just in time. Business is booming

Missing canadianadam 21 March 2015, 00:17

The attacks are not justified but are predictable considering the vacuum that was exploited by the Houthis and the spread of radical Shiism.

I am sad to see a bombing on any mosque and wonder what we as Muslims will tell God when we meet Him.

Thumb Sanelebanese 21 March 2015, 01:44

The root of all evil: I.S.L.A.M.

Thumb Sanelebanese 21 March 2015, 03:34

Amanaman: atrocities commited by those you mentiined, does not justify the evil merciful killing against christians, children, women, museums, mosques, churches, other muslims committed under the name of Islam. All these evil acts commited by non-muslims are simple evil. The same evil commited by muslims is encouraged in mosques and they are called martyrs. Do you know how islam spread over the middle east? The fear of decapitation, fear of rape, fear of discrimination, and fear of being seen as an infidel. What is this religion that ask its followers to kill anyone who is different, and heavenly virgins are waiting for them. I am sure you are one of those hopeful devils.