At least 28 people were killed and 75 others wounded in two bombings near a Shia mosque in a northern district of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Wednesday, media run by the city’s ruling Houthi militia said.
Al-Masirah television cited on its Twitter account the spokesman of the Houthi-controlled health ministry as saying that the casualty toll was a preliminary figure.
The Saba news agency said in a text message that the first explosion was caused by a suicide bomber in the al-Mo’ayyad mosque, followed by a car bomb blast that targeted medics outside the building. It said there were 25 dead and wounded.
The self-styled Islamic State (IS) group in Yemen has claimed responsibility for the twin bomb attacks.
In a statement on Twitter, they said that a man identified as Qusai al-Sanaani blew himself inside the mosque in the northern Jarraf district after sunset prayers.
The radical Sunni Muslim IS added that a bomb-laden vehicle parked nearby exploded as medics arrived on the scene.
The attack was to “avenge Muslims against the Rafidah (Shia),” said the statement.
Witnesses said the car bomb exploded while people were carrying out the wounded from inside the mosque, adding to the casualties.
They reported heavy deployment of Huthi gunmen, who set up new checkpoints across the capital right after the bombings.
One witness, Hamid Ali, said the explosions left body parts and bloodied floors in the mosque frequented by both Sunni and Shia Muslims. Wounded pleaded for help.
