At least 50 dead after suicide bombings in Yemen

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack, but both bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida, which has for years staged suicide bombings against army troops, security personnel and government facilities.

Sandals and personal belongings strewn across the site of one of two suicide bombings in Yemen
Sandals and personal belongings strewn across the site of one of two suicide bombings in Yemen

Two suicide bombers struck in Yemen on Thursday - one targeting a gathering of Shiite rebels in the country's capital and the other hitting a military outpost in the south - in attacks that killed at least 50 people, officials said.

At least 30 people died when a suicide attacker set off his explosives yesterday in central Sanaa, targeting a gathering of supporters of the rebel Shiite Houthis, who overran the capital in an offensive last month, security and hospital officials said.

The second bombing took place on the outskirts of the southern port city of Mukalla in Hadarmout province when a suicide car bomber rammed his car against a security outpost, killing at least 20 soldiers and wounding 15, the officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack, but both bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida, which has for years staged suicide bombings against army troops, security personnel and government facilities.