SCORES KILLED IN SUICIDE ATTACKS ON YEMEN MOSQUES

Sanaa, 1 Jumadil Akhir 1436/21 Maret 2015 (MINA) – 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, 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, Al Jazeera quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

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”. (T/P001/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)