At least 25 dead in mosque bombing in Yemen capital

Two suicide bombers are said to have blown themselves up during prayers at Houthi-run Balili mosque in Sanaa during prayers for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, witnesses said. A Houthi website gave a death toll of at least 10, while Arab media said it was at least 25.

One suicide bomber reportedly detonated explosives inside the mosque and as people fled a second bomber set off explosives at the entrance.

No terror group immediately claimed responsibly for the bombings.

Turkey’s Foreign Affairs Ministry on Thursday condemned a deadly suicide attack carried out earlier the same day by the Daesh militant group on a Shia mosque in Yemeni capital Sanaa.

With Aden and a few of the surrounding coast recaptured, pro-Saudi forces have declared Aden the temporary capital and are setting it up as a seat of their government.

On July 17, several blasts targeted three mosques as well as the political office of the Houthi Ansarullah movement in Sana’a, killing at least 31 people.

No-one has yet claimed the responsibility of the latest attack. The mosque is located in an area where many residents support the Shiite rebels, also known as Houthis, who have controlled Sanaa since last September.

A spokesman for the Saudi Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that two Saudi soldiers strayed into enemy territory in Yemen and are presumed to be in the hands of the Houthis.

The country’s former prime minister, Khaled Bahah, and seven members of Hadi’s cabinet also returned to Aden last week.

Fighting between the Government and rebel Houthi forces in the country has raged for more than a year, claiming the lives of more than 2,000 civilians. In his words, he said: “We quickly came around to rescue those that were involved”.

On Monday the rebels celebrated the first anniversary of their seizure of Sanaa, which they overran unopposed, aided by renegade troops loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula controls parts of the vast southeastern province of Hadramawt, including the provincial capital Mukalla, seized in April.