Yemenis condemn bombing claimed by IS group
(30 Jun 2015) LEAD IN: Residents of Sanaa have condemned a car bomb which exploded in the capital a day earlier causing dozens of casualties. The Islamic State group have claimed responsibility for the bomb, which exploded behind a military hospital. STORY-LINE: Panic on the streets of Sanaa. It's late on Monday and car bomb has exploded in capital. There are dozens of casualties, among them civilians, security officials say. The explosion appears to have targeted the home of a Houthi leader during a wake for a deceased family member. Many in the capital are condemning the attack, like Rashid al-Abady, who works as a traffic police. "These bombings are not approved by Islamic religion nor by Sharia (law), and in this ideology they believe in blowing themselves up or setting off a car bomb. We as Muslims don't approve of this thing," he says. The Islamic State's Sanaa Division has claimed responsibility on Twitter for detonating a parked car bomb near the military hospital, according to the SITE Intelligence Group monitoring service. But political analyst Nasser al-Rabia says he thinks there's still reason to doubt the group's claim. "What happened in Sanaa yesterday with the terrorist bombing of the funeral - it is a terrorist act for sure but I rule out that the Islamic State group is behind it. As for the published statement that links Islamic State to the attack, it is possible to have many doubts because it is possible that any person put it on the social media sites." The fighting in Yemen pits the Shiite Houthi rebels and allied troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against southern separatists, local and tribal militias, Sunni Islamic militants and loyalists of the exiled president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The rebels seized the capital in September. In March, a Saudi-led and US-backed coalition began launching airstrikes against the rebel forces. The Islamic State group has claimed two other attacks in Sanaa this month. In March, just before the Saudi-led coalition began its airstrike campaign, Yemen's Islamic State affiliate claimed responsibility for a series of suicide bombings in Sanaa targeting Shiites that killed at least 137 people and wounded 345. American officials initially expressed scepticism that the affiliate existed, as Yemen is also home to the world's most dangerous al-Qaida offshoot. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
