ISIS Terror Attack Kills Hundreds
SANAA, Yemen, March 20 (UPI) — Suicide bombers have attacked two mosques in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, killing at least 126 people and wounding many others, reports say.
Worshippers were attending noon prayers at the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques when at least three attackers struck.
Islamic State (IS), which set up a branch in Yemen in November, said it was behind the attacks.
The attack is the deadliest against civilians since January, when a car bomb detonated and killed over 30 bystanders outside a police academy.
The New York Times reported the suicide bombers attacked two Zaydi Shiite mosques in the Yemeni capital during prayer service. Witnesses said children were included in the body count. Al Jazeera reported a prominent religious figure, the imam of one of the two mosques, was among those killed.
Both mosques are support bases for the Zaidi Shia-led Houthi rebel movement, reported the BBC. The rebels took control of Sanaa in September but have been the target of attacks from a powerful Al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen and rebel supporters have been victims of militant violence.
Witnesses said one suicide bomber entered the building and detonated a bomb before dozens of people. As survivors tried to escape through the main gates, a second bomber was waiting.
The BBC reported a rebel-run television network showed volunteers rushing to carry away bleeding victims. Other bodies were lined up inside the mosque.
Sunni extremists inside Yemen are against the Zaydi Shiites, or rebels, despite the fact they comprise a third of Yemen’s population. Sunnis believe the rebels are heretics.
The bombings follow an air raid against Yemen’s president who fled Sanaa in February, after rebels placed the president, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, under house arrest.
