Sana’a: Twin bombings claimed by the Daesh against a Shiite mosque in the Yemeni capital killed at least 32 people, medical sources said in an updated toll Thursday.
A further 92 people were wounded in Wednesday’s bombings, the latest in a string of attacks carried out by the extremist group against Shiite targets in Yemen since March.
A suicide bomber blew himself up inside the mosque in the Jarraf district of north Sana’a, and a car bomb was detonated outside minutes later.
The bombing, the latest in a wave of killings claimed by the militant group, came hours after the Red Cross said a gunman killed two of its Yemeni employees in the war-torn country’s rebel-held north in a “deliberate” attack.
Daesh said a man identified as Qusai Al Sanaani blew himself up after sunset prayers inside the Al Muayad mosque in the northern Jarraf district, home to many senior figures from Al Houthi rebels that control Sana’a.
The militants said a bomb-laden vehicle parked nearby also exploded as medics arrived on the scene, bringing the death toll to at least 28 people and wounding some 75 more, according to medical officials.
Two loud explosions followed by many sirens as ambulances rushed to the scene.
Body parts were blown several metres away from the scene and nearby buildings were damaged, witnesses said, adding that Al Houthi gunmen were deployed after the attack to set up new checkpoints across the capital.
The attack was to “avenge Muslims against the Rafidah [Shiites],” Daesh said in a statement on Twitter.
Its account was confirmed by sabanews.net, the website of the Iran-backed Al Houthi rebels that control Sana’a.
Radical group Daesh considers Shiites to be heretics, and has claimed similar bombings of other Shiite mosques in Sana’a as well as in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Earlier on Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (IRCC) said a gunman killed two of its employees in an “appalling” and “brutal” attack.
The pair had been travelling north of Sana’a with two other colleagues in vehicles “clearly” marked with the Red Cross emblem, said the Geneva-based ICRC.
“Sadly, two of our staff were brutally killed on their way back from Saada to Sana’a,” spokeswoman Rima Kamal said.
Saada is the northern stronghold of the Al Houthis, who are at war with loyalists of exiled President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
Kamal said the unidentified gunman opened fire on the two vehicles after stopping them in Amran province, which has been under Al Houthi control since last year.
“One of our colleagues passed away on the spot while another sustained critical injuries and was transferred to an MSF [Doctors Without Borders] hospital ... where he passed away shortly after,” she said. The two others were unharmed.
