Off the wire
• U.S. private sector job growth picks up in August: survey  • Pakistan condemns U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan  • Feature: Japanese Eighth Route Army veteran to witness WWII victory ceremony in Beijing  • Pakistani forces kill 31 terrorists in tribal regions  • Kerry seeks to broaden Iran nuke deal support following minimum congressional votes  • Across China: Chinese photographers race against time to capture veteran soldiers  • Negotiations with Egypt on gas cooperation ongoing, says Cyprus  • Volvo's SUV model earns top score in European safety test  • Spanish stock market falls 0.55 pct, closes at 9,938 points  • Lithuania announce squad for EuroBasket 2015  
You are here: 　 Home

2 suicide bombings hit mosque in Yemen, 30 killed

Xinhua, September 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

Up to 30 people were killed and nearly 100 others injured when two suicide bombings targeted a Houthi-controlled mosque in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Wednesday evening, witnesses and a security source told Xinhua.

A security official of the country's interior ministry which is controlled by Houthis said that a Shiite mosque in Al-Jiraf district of Sanaa was hit by a suicide attack during prayers. Shortly after, a bomb-laden vehicle exploded when members of the public were helping victims.

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

Medical officials in Sanaa said that more than 30 people were killed and nearly 100 others injured during the two suicide bombings.

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.

Security sharply deteriorated in Yemen since early March when conflicts erupted in several provinces in the country's southern and northern regions.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East. Endit