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.
The bombings underscore Yemen's highly volatile situation amid a Shiite rebel blitz that has stunned the nation and reshaped the country's political landscape.
At least 30 people died when a suicide attacker set off his explosives today 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 bomber mingled among the protesters in the morning hours as they were getting ready for the rally in the landmark Tahrir Street, before he detonated his explosives, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to media.
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.
Hadarmout is one of several strongholds of al-Qaida's Yemeni branch, considered by Washington to be the most dangerous offshoot of the terror network.
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.
In Sanaa, the dead and wounded were taken to three hospitals. At one of them, the Al-Moayed hospital, body parts of the victims were piled up on the hospital floor, and two severed heads were placed next to two headless bodies. There were six children in critical condition.
At the scene of the blast in Tahrir Street, blood pooled on the ground as volunteers scooped up body parts from the pavement. Sandals and other personal belongings of the victims were scattered about.
