Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) announced its responsibility for a suicide bombing attack which killed at least 26 people and wounded others, at procession of Houthis in northern Yemen last week.
In a statement dated November 25 and posted on the Internet on Sunday AQAP threatened more attacks against Houthis in defense of the honor of our Prophet Mohammad, and in defense of our Sunni brothers which Houthis are accused of killing, badly vandalizing their homes and forcing them out of areas under rebel control.
Last week, two bombings occurred in northern Yemen with one targeting a procession on its way to celebrate religious ceremony, Eid Al-Ghadir in Jawf killing almost 24 and wounded several others. The other targeted Houthi followers traveling in Saada to participate in a funeral, killing two mourners and wounding almost eight.
The attack comes two months after Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula accused the Houthis of capturing two of its members and handing them over to the security chief of Saada province.
The Houthi Group accused the U.S. and Israeli intelligence services of orchestrating Wednesday's attack and said U.S ambassador provided funds for sheikhs and tribal leaders on his visits to some areas including Amran to carry out Friday's attack.
For the first time, AQAP carried out attacks on Yemeni Shias which experts said it is similar to Al-Qaeda tactics in Iraq and Afghanistan.
AQAP was behind international bombing attempts, including the parcel bombs intercepted in Britain and Dubai in route to the United States in October.