Sanaa: A car bomb in front of a police academy in Yemen's capital Sanaa
killed dozens of people on Wednesday, security and hospital officials
said.
killed dozens of people on Wednesday, security and hospital officials
said.
The attack took place as several people gathered in front of the
building for a police recruitment event, according to security sources.
The blast in the capital came days after a bomb wounded six militiamen
in Sanaa on Monday, while four people, including a reporter, were killed
on Sunday in Dhamar.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday's attack.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, considered by the United States to
be the global jihadist network's most dangerous branch, has recently
carried out a spate of attacks against Yemen's security forces.
The country has been dogged by instability since an uprising forced
longtime strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh from power in 2012, with Al Houthi
rebels and Al Qaeda's franchise in the country seeking to fill the
power vacuum.
AQAP has pledged to fight the Al Houthis, who overran the capital Sanaa
unopposed in September and have since advanced into districts such as
Ibb.
The Al Qaeda group has exploited the weakened central authority in
Yemen since Saleh's departure following a year-long popular uprising.
The group's presence is strongest in the south and southeast of the
impoverished country, but AQAP has also launched attacks in the capital
itself.
The US, meanwhile, slapped sanctions on former president Saleh in November for allegedly supporting the Al Houthi advance.
It also blacklisted two rebel commanders, Abdullah Yahya Al Hakim and
Abd Al Khaliq Al Houthi, "for engaging in acts that directly or
indirectly threaten the peace, security, or stability of Yemen".
The head of Yemen's Al Houthi militia threatened Saturday to take
control of oil-rich Marib province, targeted by the group since it
seized the capital and central areas.
President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has struggled to assert his authority since the Al Houthi takeover of the capital.
A new Yemeni government was formed in November as part of a UN-brokered peace deal aimed at restoring stability.
Made up of technocrats, the government was agreed with the Al Houthis
and its formation was meant to pave the way for them to loosen their
hold on Sanaa, though there have been no signs of the militia abandoning
positions.
The Arabian Peninsula country is also facing continued violence in its
restive south, where separatists are pushing for the restoration of
independence.
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