A suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt as preachers lined up to enter Sanaa's Badr Mosque
20 March 2015
SANAA
The death toll from Friday's twin suicide bombing targeting two Sanaa mosques frequented by supporters of Yemen's Houthi group has risen to 120, the Shiite group has said.
The Houthis' security committee said in a statement that 120 people had been killed and 150 injured in the two attacks, which targeted Sanaa's Badr and Al-Hashoush mosques.
Earlier a medical source told The Anadolu Agency that at least 85 bodies had arrived at several Sanaa hospitals in the attacks' immediate aftermath.
The first bombing targeted the Badr Mosque during a Friday sermon, while the second targeted the Al-Hashoush Mosque in Sanaa's Al-Jaraf neighborhood, considered a Houthi stronghold.
Yemen's official news agency, which is under the control of the Houthis, reported that at least 43 people had been killed in the blasts.
The broadcaster also said that 200 people had been injured, many of them seriously.
A suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt as preachers lined up to enter Sanaa's Badr Mosque, according to the news agency.
It also reported that another bomber had blown himself up inside the mosque, killing two preachers and a number of other people.
Two other suicide bombers carried out the attack on the Al-Hashoush Mosque in the same manner, according to the broadcaster.
Al-Qaeda denies link to bombings
Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen has purportedly denied any connection to the attacks.
"We deny any connection to the bombings that targeted the Houthi mosques in Sanaa," according to a Twitter account associated with the militant group.
"We are adhering to orders issued by [group leader] Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri to avoid targeting mosques, markets or public places with mixed visitors to preserve the lives of innocent Muslims," the Twitter account added.
Daesh has since claimed responsibility for both bombings, which represent the militant group's first-ever attacks in crisis-hit Yemen.
Friday's attacks were the first time for political violence to strike mosques in Sanaa since the capital was taken over by the Houthis last September.
