ISIL claims responsibility for Sana'a blasts

Iran Press TV

Fri Mar 20, 2015 4:20PM

The ISIL Takfiri terrorist group has claimed responsibility for three deadly bomb attacks that hit mosques crowded with worshippers in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a.

A branch of ISIL in Yemen claimed responsibility for the bombings in an online statement on Friday, warning that the attacks were "just the tip of the iceberg."

At least 142 people were killed and 351 suffered injuries in the bomb attacks targeting Badr mosque in southern Sana'a and al-Hashoosh mosque in the northern part of the capital earlier in the day.

The blasts come against the backdrop of intense gun battles between supporters and opponents of fugitive President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi in the southern port city of Aden. More than a dozen people died in the fighting, which also forced closure of the Aden International Airport.

Hadi, along with members of Prime Minister Khaled Bahah's cabinet, stepped down in late January, but the parliament did not approve the president's resignation. The president fled his home in Sana'a on February 21, after weeks under effective house arrest and went to Aden, Yemen's second largest city, where he officially withdrew his resignation and highlighted his intention to resume duties. This came after the Houthi fighters took control of Sana'a in September 2014.

Some Persian Gulf Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, have already relocated their embassies from Sana'a to Aden.

Hadi also called on the Ansarullah revolutionaries to relinquish power and leave Sana'a. The Houthis, however, said Hadi had lost his legitimacy as head of state and was being sought as a fugitive from justice.

The Houthi movement played a key role in the 2011 popular uprising that forced the longtime dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to quit after 33 years in power. The revolutionaries say the government has been incapable of properly running the affairs of the country and providing security.

IA/HSN/SS