Car bomb strikes Sanaa mosque, killing 15: Witnesses

SANAA, Yemen

At least 15 Shia worshipers were killed Thursday morning while performing Eid al-Adha prayers when a car bomb went off outside a mosque in capital Sanaa, according to eyewitnesses.

Witnesses said that two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a bomb-laden vehicle, killing 15 and injuring dozens of others.

The death toll from the attack – for which no group has yet claimed responsibility – is expected to rise further.

Turkey condemns deadly mosque attack in Yemen's Sanaa

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.

“We strongly condemn the suicide bomb attack on Sanaa’s Belili Mosque, which was carried out during Eid-al Adha prayers and which claimed numerous lives,” the ministry declared in a statement.

Turkey, it went on, “reiterates its support for efforts to establish a legitimate government in Yemen and the efforts made by the brotherly people of Yemen to establish peace, security and stability in the country."

The ministry added: “We wish for God’s mercy on those who lost their lives [in Thursday’s attack], convey our condolences to the families of those slain, and wish the injured a speedy recovery.”

Responsibility for the attack, which killed at least 25 people and left dozens injured, was claimed by the Daesh-affiliated Wilayet Sanaa group.

On Thursday morning, a car bomb went off outside the mosque, which was packed at the time with Shia worshippers performing Eid al-Adha prayers, according to eyewitnesses.

Yemen descended into chaos last September, when the Shia Houthi militia overran Sanaa.

In April, the Houthis also captured Yemen’s southern Aden province, prompting President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi – along with most of his government – to flee to Saudi Arabia.

For the last six months, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies have carried out a wide-ranging air campaign targeting Houthi positions across Yemen, which recently allowed pro-Hadi forces to retake most of Aden province.

Earlier this week, Hadi finally returned to Aden – where he held a cabinet meeting on Wednesday – after five months in Saudi Arabia.