Date: Tue Dec 16 17:46:41 2014
Car bombers kill at least 26, including 16 students, south of Yemeni capital
By Ahmed Al-Haj The Associated Press
December 16, 2014 11:04 am
. SANAA, Yemen - Two suicide car bombers rammed their vehicles into a
Shiite rebels' checkpoint and a house south of the Yemeni capital Tuesday as
a school bus was travelling nearby, killing at least 26 people including at
least 16 primary school students, according to the Yemeni government, rebels
and witnesses.
Witnesses said that the first car was loaded with potatoes apparently
disguising explosives underneath. When the car bomber arrived at the
checkpoint manned by rebels, he blew up the vehicle as the students' bus was
passing. After the first explosion, a second car targeted the home of a
Shiite rebel leader, Abdullah Idris.
State TV quoted the country's Supreme Security Committee - Yemen's highest
security body - as saying that at least 26 including 16 students and 10
civilians were killed in the twin bombings.
Witnesses at the site of the attack said that the rebels brought four pickup
trucks and dumped dozens of bodies into them while several ambulances rushed
to the scene to carry away the wounded. Body parts littered the street along
with open bags of potatoes.
The Shiite rebels, known as the Houthis, blamed al-Qaida for the attack in
the Radaa area of Baydah province, calling it "the ugliest crime against
childhood." The group said the school bus was carrying female primary school
students.
The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear retribution.
This is the second time Idris's house has been targeted since October. The
Houthis and al-Qaida have been fighting in Radaa since the rebels overran
the area in October.
The empowered Shiite rebels have made significant military advances in
recent months, seizing control of the capital and other strategic cities.
Yemen has been gripped by a power struggle between President Abed Rabbo
Mansour Hadi and the Houthis, who have allied with his predecessor, ousted
President Ali Abdullah Saleh. On Tuesday, Saleh loyalists, who form the
majority of parliament, derailed a vote of confidence on the new
government's program. A raucous session Tuesday came to an abrupt end before
a vote, after Saleh loyalists bickered over internal party politics.
They accuse Hadi of backing U.N. sanctions against Saleh and two top rebel
leaders, and have called on the government to explicitly denounce the
sanctions.
Also Tuesday, Shiite rebel gunmen, who seized control of Sanaa in September,
surrounded the ministry of defence and packed the city's nearby streets,
preventing the minister from accessing his office. A day earlier, the
minister had kicked out the rebels from around the ministry for blocking his
chief of staff from entering.
Later, Hadi drove to the ministry, effectively ending the siege.
C The Canadian Press, 2014
Yemen's Shiite rebels say two car bombs have exploded south of the capital,
hitting a school bus travelling near a rebel gathering and killing 10
fighters and at least 15 students.
<http://globalnews.ca/news/1729460/car-bombs-in-yemen-kill-at-least-15-stude
nts/> HD
Yemen's Shiite rebels say two car bombs have exploded south of the capital,
hitting a school bus travelling near a rebel gathering and killing 10
fighters and at least 15 students.
Stringer/AFP/Getty Images
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