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IS suicide bombing in Yemen's capital kills 7

Xinhua, October 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

At least seven people were killed and 12 others wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself in front of a gathering of the Shiite Houthi group in Yemen's capital of Sanaa on Tuesday night, a security official told Xinhua.

The initial investigation showed that seven people were killed and 12 others wounded in the suicide bombing attack in the southern gate of Iman university in Hassaba area in central Sanaa, Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reported.

The Islamic State (IS) released a statement on Twitter, claiming responsibility for the suicide attack and saying the operation was carried out while Houthi fighters were preparing to move to the frontlines.

The IS conducted suicide bombing attacks against government officials in Yemen's southern port city of Aden earlier in the day, which left at least 15 soldiers from the Saudi-led coalition forces dead.

The Sunni extremist group said it sent four bombers to attack a hotel where Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and his cabinet were living, a gathering of Saudi officers and a military based used by the United Arab Emirates forces in Aden city, in a brief statement posted on Twitter.

It is first attack against the Yemeni government and Arab coalition by the IS which has launched a series of suicide attacks against the coalition's arch foe, the Shiite Houthi group. A military source said earlier that it was the rocket attacks by the Houthis.

Bahah, who escaped the rocket attack unharmed, told Xinhua that "we will stay in Aden and our efforts will not be stopped."

In Abu Dhabi, the General Command of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces said four Emirati soldiers were killed in the attack. It said 11 soldiers from other Arab countries also died, state news agency WAM reported.

One Saudi soldier was among the dead, Saudi Press Agency said.

Months of civil war has created huge power vacuum for the IS and al-Qaida branch in Yemen which have launched suicide attacks in the capital Sanaa and taken a large swath of territory in the country's southern and eastern regions. Endit