Friday, March 20, 2015

Blog #5 Yemen crisis: Islamic State claims Sanaa mosque attacks


Summary:
Islamic State (IS) say its militants carried out suicide bombings on two mosques in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, which killed at least 137 people.The attacks are the first claimed by IS a Sunni group since it set up a branch in Yemen in November. Both mosques were used mainly by supporters of the Zaidi Shia-led Houthi rebel movement, which controls Sanaa. Yemen has suffered from political instability for years and Houthi rebels control nine of the 21 provinces. Four suicide bombers attacked the Badr mosque, in the south of Sanaa, and the al-Hashoosh mosque, in the north of the capital, as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers. At the Badr mosque, one bomber entered the building and detonated his explosives while other people were caught by the second bomber near the main gates. Two more bombers attacked the al-Hashoosh mosque, with one detonating explosives near the entrance and the other running into the mosque itself. 
Analysis:
This was supposidly an attack by IS a Sunni group on Shia Muslims who were at the mosque to pray. Both al-Qaeda and IS consider Shia Muslims to be heretics and have rallied against Houthis in Yemen. They have been fighting against each other for some time now and things don't look like they will clear up anytime soon. This is due to the fact the governments such as the US back the Shia Muslims. IS has been having issues lately with gaining ground in Iraq. I believe this is an attempt to rally their troops morale to keep the fight going. It is not clear what will happen next as IS is an unpredictable group with strong propaganda messages which is gaining it new recruits everyday.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31989844

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