2nd LD: Car bombs target Houthi group in Yemen's capital, 18 killed

Car bombs hit an office of the Shiite Houthi group and three mosques in Yemen's capital of Sanaa on Wednesday evening, killing at least 18 people, security sources said.

Three cars laden with explosives went off near the office of the Houthi political bureau, the highest decision making body, in northern Yemen, killing 18 Houthi supporters, security sources told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The explosions occurred when they were holding a ceremony on the holy month of Ramadan organized by the Houthi group.

Several minutes later, three mosques controlled by the Houthis were attacked simultaneously by car bombs, leaving dozens of people wounded, the sources added.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the series of attacks. Security officials said it was similar to the attack against the Houthi group in March which was claimed by the Islamic States (IS).

On March 20, IS suicide bombers attacked two mosques in Sanaa and Houthi headquarters in the northern Saada province, killing at least 137 people, the most deadliest attacks in Yemen for decades.

Meanwhile, Yemen is the home of the Sunni al-Qaida offshoot, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which intensified attacks against the Shiite Houthi group since September when the Houthis took over Sanaa and started to advance into the southern regions where AQAP is active. Endit