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Members of the Houthi militia inspect the scene of a suicide attack targeting the al-Hashahush mosque in Sana’a, Yemen, on March 20, 2015.(Photo: Yahya Arhab, European Press Agency)
WASHINGTON — The horrific attacks on Shiite mosques in Yemen on Friday highlight a growing and more lethal sectarian struggle in the Middle East that is pitting Iran and its Shiite allies against rival Sunni regimes and militant organizations.
A group claiming to be a Yemeni branch of the Islamic State, composed of Sunni extremists, claimed responsibility for Friday's bombings. They were carried out by as many as four suicide bombers at two mosques controlled by Shiite rebels in Sana'a, Yemen's capital. The claim could not be verified.
Al-Masirah TV, a network owned by the rebels, said 137 worshipers were killed and 345 wounded in the multiple attacks.
USA TODAY
More than 130 dead in blasts at Shiite mosques in Yemen
The conflict in Yemen, as in Syria and Iraq, is rooted in the centuries-long animosity between the two branches of Islam. The Houthi rebels are Shiites from northern Yemen. They now control the capital and large swaths of the country, which has a Sunni majority.
Sunni extremists, such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, are increasingly emerging as champions of beleaguered Sunnis in the Shiite-dominated countries, analysts say.
"Regardless of who attacked the mosques, al-Qaeda's influence and support is expanding dramatically in Yemen" as sectarian tensions grow, said Abdulkader Sinno, an Indiana University professor who has written about insurgent organizations.
Friday's attacks were the deadliest in Yemen in decades and appeared to have targeted Shiite worshipers to fan sectarian flames.
Similar violence exploded in Iraq in 2006, when al-Qaeda militants blew up a holy Shiite mosque in Samarra. The attack touched off waves of Sunni-Shiite violence and assassinations that verged on civil war.
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The suicide bombings reportedly happened during noon prayers in the the capital city of Sanaa. The mosques were crowded with worshippers at the time.
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