4th LD: IS claims bombing attacks killing 137 in Yemen

The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility in an online statement for three bombing attacks in Yemen's capital Sanaa and Saada province that killed 137 people during Friday prayers.

"Five IS soldiers wearing explosive vests launched a suicide operation in Yemen. Four of them went to two Shiite Houthi headquarters in the mosques of Badr and Hashoush in the capital Sanaa. The fifth soldier went to Houthi stronghold of Saada," the statement issued by the IS media office in Yemen said.

The IS also vowed to launch more attacks against the Houthi group.

The Houthi-run al-Maseera TV reported that a total of 137 people were killed and 350 people wounded in Sanaa and Saada. However, the interior ministry said at least 120 people were killed in the four bombing attacks.

In Sanaa, the bombers detonated explosives at two mosques controlled by the Shiite Houthi group, killing at least 119 people, a security official said on condition of anonymity, adding that most of the dead were supporters of the Houthi group.

The first attack hit prayers inside the Badr mosque in southeastern Sanaa, while the second bombing occurred at a checkpoint outside the Hashoush mosque in northeastern areas, he said.

The Houthi-run al-Maseera TV reported that Murtada al-Mahadwari, a prominent Shiite religious leader who is also the chief of Badr mosque and its religious center, was among the dead.

Futhermore, two Houthi commanders were killed in the blast in the Hashoush mosque.

The group also called on Sanaa citizens to donate blood at hospitals as the number of the wounded rises sharply.

Medics said the death toll is likely to rise as many people are in critical condition.

This is the second bombing attack in Sanaa this year after an al-Qaida car bombing attack against the police academy killed at least 50 cadets on Jan. 7.

In Saada province, at least 18 people, most of them Houthi followers, were killed during Friday prayers when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a mosque in Saada city, the provincial capital of Saada province, he added.

Dozens of people were wounded in the two separate attacks, the source added.

It is the first time that IS launched attacks in Yemen which is on the brink of civil war after years of conflicts.

The al-Qaida group based in Yemen's southern regions launched a suicide bombing attack against a Houthi gathering on Oct. 9, 2014, killing at least 32 Houthi followers and wounding dozens. It also claimed responsibility on Thursday for the assassination of a senior Houthi official in Sanaa last week.

A small branch of al-Qaida in the Arabian Penisula split from the network and joined the IS three months ago. The IS statement said this branch conducted these bombing attacks in Sanaa and Saada.

The Shiite Houthi group took over control of Sanaa in September and met strong resistance in the central and southern regions by powerful Sunni tribes and Sunni-dominated al-Qaida network.

In January, the Houthi group seized the presidential palace in Sanaa and put President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah under house arrest after they submitted resignations.

On Feb. 6, the Houthi group disclosed a unilateral "constitutional declaration" that dissolved parliament and established a presidential council to replace the presidency.

The unilateral move was rejected by Yemen's political parties and denounced by the Gulf Arab states. More than a dozen countries closed their embassies in Sanaa in protest to Houthi takeover of Sanaa and for security concerns.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have moved their embassies to Aden to show support to Hadi who fled to the southern port city in late February where he resumed presidential duties.

The Shiite Houthi group, also known as Ansarullah, is based in the far northern province of Saada. It extended its influence southward after signing a UN-sponsored peace and power-sharing deal on Sept. 21, 2014, following week-long deadly clashes.

Discontented from marginalization for years, the group battled the government between 2004 and 2010.

On Thursday, pro-Hadi tribal militia fought against security forces supported by the Houthi group in Aden, killing at least 15 people. The presidential palace in Aden where Hadi stays was also bombed by a fighter jet which took off from Sanaa.

However, no one was wounded in air raid and Hadi was evacuated to a safe place, according to a presidential source close to Hadi.

On Friday, two fighter jets from Sanaa's air force base flew over the presidential palace in Aden and were expelled by the forces guarding the palace, a government official in the port city told Xinhua.

Obsevers said the country may slip into civil war as the south strongly resists the Houthi group that controls four northern provinces including the capital.

And the security vacuum could benefit the al-Qaida in the Arabian Penisula, the most active al-Qaida group in the region which is considered a major threat to oil-rich Saudi Arabia and the United States. Endit