March 2015 Sanaa mosque bombings

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2015 Sana'a mosque bombings
Part of the Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)
Amanat Al Asimah in Yemen.svg
Location of Sana'a in Yemen
Location Flag of Yemen.svg Sana'a, Sana'a Governorate, Yemen
Date20 March 2015 (2015-03-20) (UTC+03:00)
Target Shia worshippers
Attack type
Quadruple suicide bombing [1]
Weaponsbombs with syths
Deaths142 [2]
Injured351 [3]
PerpetratorsAQMI Flag asymmetric.svg  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [4] (claimed responsibility)

The 2015 Sana'a mosque bombings were four suicide attacks targeting two mosques on 20 March 2015 in Sana'a, Yemen. [1] [5]

Contents

The attack

The al-Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques came under suicide attack during midday prayers. [6] The blasts killed 137 people and wounded more than 357, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in Yemen's history. [7] [8] [9] One suicide bomber blew up outside the gate of al-Badr mosque when he was caught by militia guards, and the second detonated his device among fleeing people inside the mosque. Another pair of bombers blew up at Al-Hashoosh mosque. [10] [11]

The targeted mosques are linked to the Houthis, a group of the Zaidiyyah sect of Shia Islam. The Houthis deposed the Yemeni government earlier in 2015 after they took control of Sana'a the previous year. [12]

Responsibility

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) Yemen branch claimed responsibility for the attack. [4] In a recording released by the group, they stated: "IS soldiers will not rest until they stop the Safawi [ Iranian ] operation in Yemen.” [13]

According to Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution, the bombings were more likely carried out by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). [14] AQAP denied this, citing instructions from Ayman al-Zawahiri to not attack mosques or markets. If ISIL was responsible, these would be the first attacks it carried out in Yemen. [15]

Reactions

The U.S. Department of State called for a stop to any military actions, to be followed by a diplomatic solution. Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary General, demanded that all sides "immediately cease all hostile actions and exercise maximum restraint." [16]

On 23 March, an Iranian Airbus A310 of Mahan Air loaded with 13-ton package of humanitarian aids as well as aid workers of Iranian Red Crescent landed at Sanaa. On its departure from Yemen, 52 wounded people of the bombings were transferred to Tehran to receive treatment. Iran's deputy ambassador Rasai Ebadi said more aid would come soon. [17] [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

In its war on terrorism in Yemen, the US government describes Yemen as "an important partner in the global war on terrorism". There have been attacks on civilian targets and tourists, and there was a cargo-plane bomb plot in 2010. Counter-terrorism operations have been conducted by the Yemeni police, the Yemeni military, and the United States Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorism in Saudi Arabia</span>

Terrorism in Saudi Arabia has mainly been attributed to Islamic extremists. Their targets included foreign civilians—Westerners affiliated with its oil-based economy—as well as Saudi Arabian civilians and security forces. Anti-Western attacks have occurred in Saudi Arabia dating back to 1995. Saudi Arabia itself has been accused of funding terrorism in other countries, including Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula</span> Sunni Islamist militant organization

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, abbreviated as AQAP, also known as Ansar al-Sharia in Yemen, is a Sunni Islamist insurgent extremist group, which is part of the al-Qaeda network and primarily active in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. It is considered the most active of al-Qaeda's branches that emerged after the weakening of central leadership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen</span> Ongoing conflict

The Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen is an ongoing armed conflict between the Yemeni government, the United States and their allies, and al-Qaeda-affiliated cells in Yemen. It is a part of the Global War on Terror.

Abdul-Malik Badruldeen al-Houthi, also known as Abu Jibril, is a Yemeni politician and religious leader who serves as the leader of the Houthi movement, a revolutionary movement principally made up of Zaidi Muslims. His brothers Yahia and Abdul-Karim are also leaders of the group, as were his late brothers Hussein, Ibrahim, and Abdulkhaliq. Abdul-Malik al-Houthi is the leading figure in the Yemeni Civil War which started with the Houthi takeover in Yemen in the Saada Governorate in northern Yemen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Dammaj</span> Battle of the Yemeni Revolution

The siege of Dammaj began in October 2011 when the Houthis, a Zaydi-led rebel group which controls the Sa'dah Governorate, accused Salafis loyal to the Yemeni government of smuggling weapons into their religious center in the town of Dammaj and demanded they hand over their weapons and military posts in the town. As the Salafis refused, Houthi rebels responded by imposing a siege on Dammaj, closing the main entrances leading to the town. The town was controlled by the Houthis and the fighting was mainly centered at Dar al-Hadith religious school, which was operated by Salafis.

On 21 May 2012, a suicide attack was launched against Yemeni Army soldiers practicing for the annual Unity Day military parade in Sanaa, Yemen. The ceremony is carried out every year on 22 May since 1990 to mark the unification of North Yemen and South Yemen as the Republic of Yemen. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) affiliate Ansar al-Sharia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansar al-Sharia (Yemen)</span> Militant Khawarij organization in Yemen

Jama'at Ansar al-Shari'a, also known as Ansar al-Shari'a, is a Yemen-based umbrella organization which includes units from several militant Islamic groups of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). In 2011, AQAP created Ansar Al-Sharia as a Yemen-based affiliate focused on waging an insurgency rather than international attacks on the West. In the view of the International Crisis Group, AQAP is "an internally diverse organisation with varying layers of support among the local population" and many AAS members and allies are not committed to AQAP's international agenda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 in Yemen</span> List of events

The following lists events that happened in 2015 in Yemen.

"Yemeni crisis (2011–present)" refers to events of the Houthi insurgency in Yemen, the Yemeni revolution, the Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen and the South Yemen insurgency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aftermath of the Houthi takeover in Yemen</span>

The aftermath of the Houthi takeover in Yemen refers to developments following the Houthis' takeover of the Yemeni capital of Sana'a and dissolution of the government, which eventually led to a civil war and the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yemeni civil war (2014–present)</span> Ongoing civil war in the state of Yemen

The Yemeni civil war is an ongoing multilateral civil war that began in late 2014 mainly between the Rashad al-Alimi-led Presidential Leadership Council and the Mahdi al-Mashat-led Supreme Political Council, along with their supporters and allies. Both claim to constitute the official government of Yemen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war</span> Saudi war against Houthis in Yemen launched in 2015

On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched an intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 by Houthi insurgents during the Yemeni Civil War. Efforts by the United Nations to facilitate a power sharing arrangement under a new transitional government collapsed, leading to escalating conflict between government forces, Houthi rebels, and other armed groups, which culminated in Hadi fleeing to Saudi Arabia shortly before it began military operations in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aden unrest (2015–2019)</span> Conflict in southern Yemen between government, separatists and Islamists

The Aden unrest was a conflict between Islamist factions, such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's Yemen Branch, against the loyalists of president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and later to conflict between UAE-backed and Saudi-backed factions within the coalition. In 2017, fighting also broke out between factions aligned with different members of the Saudi-led coalition namely Saudi Arabia-backed Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and Al-Islah and UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council and Southern Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic State – Yemen Province</span> Branch of Islamic State, active in Yemen

The Islamic State – Yemen Province is a branch of the militant Islamist group Islamic State (IS), active in Yemen. IS announced the group's formation on 13 November 2014.

On 15 May 2016, a suicide bombing in the southern Yemeni port city of Mukalla, the capital of the Hadhramaut province, killed at least 47 police and injured over 60. The bombing was preceded by an attack, where 15 Yemeni troops were killed in attacks on army positions outside Mukalla. ISIL said, one of its militants blew up a vehicle, packed with explosives, in an army base in the Khalf district at the city's eastern outskirts.

The following lists events that will happen in 2016 in Yemen.

The following is a timeline of the Yemeni civil war, which began in September 2014.

The Hadramaut insurgency was an insurgency in Yemen launched by AQAP and ISIL-YP against forces loyal to president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.

On 24 September 2015, a double suicide bombing was carried out by Islamic State at a mosque in Sana'a, Yemen, killing at least 25 people.

References

  1. 1 2 "Death toll hits 142 from attacks in Yemen mosques". Al Bawaba. 20 March 2015. Archived from the original on 22 March 2015.
  2. "Yemen mosque bombings 'could only be done by the enemies of life'". Guardian. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  3. "Yemen: 120 killed in 2 mosque attacks in capital". CNN. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Yemen crisis: Islamic State claims Sanaa mosque attacks". BBC News. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  5. Ghobari, Mohammed; Mukhashaf, Mohammed (20 March 2015). "Suicide bombers kill 137 in Yemen mosque attacks". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 March 2015.
  6. "Yemen crisis: Suicide attacks hit Sana'a Houthi mosques". BBC. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  7. "Scores killed in suicide attacks on Yemen mosques". Al-Jazeera. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  8. "Yemen: over 100 dead in suicide bombings at Houthi mosques in Sana'a", by The Guardian
  9. Hakim Almasmari & Asa Fitch (20 March 2015). "Yemen Division of Islamic State Claims Suicide Bomb Attacks That Killed Scores". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  10. "Yemen's Islamic State Affiliate Claims Sanaa Attacks". The New York Times. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  11. "Yemen mosque bombings death toll hits 77". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  12. "46 Killed, 100 Injured in Suicide Attacks on 2 Yemen Mosques". The New York Times. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  13. Aya Nader (21 March 2015). "Egypt strongly condemns Islamic State attacks in Yemen". Daily News Egypt. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  14. Noah Rayman (20 March 2015). "ISIS Claims Role in Yemen Attack, But Some Say Al Qaeda Likelier". TIME.com. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  15. "BBC News – Yemen crisis: More than 100 die in attacks on Sanaa mosques". BBC News. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  16. "Yemeni IS Group Claims Sana'a Mosques Blasts". VOA. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  17. "First Iran flight lands in Shiite-held Yemen capital". The National. 1 March 2015. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017.
  18. "Iran Jet Loaded with Humanitarian Aid Lands in Yemen". Almanar News. 23 March 2015. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.