Gulf | Yemen
Blast deals blow to Yemen deal
At least 18 people, including soldiers, were killed and more than 45 injured after a bomb exploded at the entrance to a crowded mosque in northwest Yemen moments after Friday prayers on Friday, local officials said.
- By Nasser Arrabyee, Correspondent
- Published: 14:53 May 2, 2008
- Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
- The blast at a Yemeni mosque on Friday comes two days after another blast hit a government building in Sanaa.
Sana'a: At least 18 people, including soldiers, were killed and more than 45 injured after a bomb exploded at the entrance to a crowded mosque in northwest Yemen moments after Friday prayers on Friday, local officials said.
The Yemeni government pointed the finger at Al Houthi rebels for masterminding the attack at the Salman mosque in Sa'ada. However, rebel leader Abdul Malek Al Houthi accused unnamed forces of planning the blast in a bid to thwart a Qatari-brokered deal to end a four-year conflict in Yemen. Talks on the deal are unlikely in the aftermath of the blast.
"Terrorist elements belonging to Abdul Malek Al Houthi were behind this crime. They will be brought to justice," an interior ministry spokesman said. The dead included several women and children. Askar Bin Zuail, the anti-rebel imam of the mosque, survived the attack, local sources said. Bin Zuail is also a military commander in the volatile province that has traditionally been a rebel stronghold.
"Bin Zuail was the most likely target because he is a military commander and has spoken out against Al Rafedah [name for the Shiite rebels used by extremist Sunnis]," a witness told Gulf News. "The mosque is seen by Al Houthi and his followers as a factory of extremists who call for fighting the Shiites," he said.
But speaking to Gulf News over phone from his stronghold in the Al Naqa'a region, Al Houthi denied any role. "We condemn this incident. It is not part of our morals," he said.
"There is a third party from the army or other state institutions which is making use of this incident," he added. "Anyone who accuses us should be aware that we are in reality victims of these incidents. Only last week, our people were subjected to a similar incident," Al Houthi said.
Answering a question on any regional interference in the Sa'ada conflict, he said: "I do not exclude external hands that support internal parties who wish to thwart the Doha deal."
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