Blast kills senior Islamist politician in Yemen

Sana’a: A car bombing on Tuesday killed a leading member of Yemen’s powerful Sunni Al Islah party whose supporters have been battling Al Houthi rebels, a security official said.

Al Islah assistant secretary general Sadeq Mansour died “immediately” when a device inside the door of his car exploded in the country’s third city Taez southwest of Sana’a, the official told AFP.

Police are trying to identify the attackers, the official added.

Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Al Islah have been resisting an advance by Al Houthi militiamen who easily overran the capital Sana’a on September 21 and who have since been expanding farther south.

Early this month, Al Houthis attacked Al Islah headquarters in the southwestern city of Ibb, killing three people.

Dozens of people have also been killed in fighting between armed Al Houthis and Al Qaida militants backed by Sunni tribes in central Yemen.

Al Houthi rebels did not enter Taez, 250 kilometres (155 miles) from Sana’a, after a deal was struck between the provincial authorities and Al Houthi representatives to avoid fighting there.

Mansour’s murder comes just over two weeks after another politician, the liberal Union of Popular Forces secretary general Mohammad Abdul Malik Al Mutawakil, was gunned down in Sana’a.