IS attack on Houthi rebel leaders leaves 28 dead

Sanaa, June 30 

The Islamic State group has claimed an attack on two Houthi rebel leaders in Sanaa that medics said had killed at least 28 persons, including eight women.

The car bomb targeted Houthi rebel chief brothers Faycal and Hamid Jayache last night during a gathering to mourn the death of a family member, a security source said.

Houthi rebels closed down the surrounding area in the centre of the city after the attack, only allowing through emergency services to help evacuate the victims, witnesses said.

The explosion blew a crater in the road, took chunks out of nearby walls and left debris strewn across the street.

In a statement posted online, the IS said it had organised the attack on what it called a “Shiite nest” in the Yemeni capital.

The extremist Sunni jihadist group considers Shiites as heretics and has frequently targeted them in attacks in several countries.

The latest of these, a suicide bombing by a Saudi national on Friday in a Shiite mosque in Kuwait killed 26 persons and wounded 227 others.

The IS has also claimed a car bombing on June 20 against a mosque in Sanaa that killed two and wounded 16 and another series of attacks in the Yemeni capital four days earlier that killed 31. The jihadist group has been ramping up its deadly campaign in Yemen since March.  — AFP