Two suicide bombings hit mosque in Yemen, 30 killed

Sanaa, September 3

Nearly 30 people were killed and 100 others injured when two suicide bombings targeted a Houthi-controlled mosque in Yemen's capital Sanaa.

A security official of the country's interior ministry, which is controlled by Houthi rebels, said that a Shia mosque in Al-Jiraf district of Sanaa was hit by a suicide attack during evening prayers.

Shortly after, a bomb-laden vehicle exploded when members of the public were helping victims, Xinhua news agency reported.

Witnesses near the scene said that about 20 minutes after the first suicide bombing inside the mosque the second explosion was followed by a car bomb killing and injuring dozens paramedics.

The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reported that the second explosion took place when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-packed truck into the main gate of the targeted mosque where scores of people gathered to rescue injured people.

Local affiliates of the Islamic State (IS) shortly claimed responsibility for the attack in several posts online and social media, but the claims cannot be independently verified. —IANS