YEMEN: Attackers injure 30 people after setting fire to a mosque in northern Yemen

Attackers poured fuel over worshippers at a mosque in northern Yemen, locked the doors and set fire to it, wounding 30 people, the official Saba news agency reported on Saturday. The attack took place on Friday in the northern province of Amran, south of Saada, where troops are battling Shi'ite Muslim rebels who the government says want to install clerical rule in the Sunni-dominated country. It was not immediately clear if the mosque was used by Sunni or Shi'ite worshippers. "We were at prayers when we heard the sound of burning. We went outside, we had to walk through the burning fire." said one of the injured, Saleh Ali Moukbel. Police arrested a suspect, identified as Hamid al-Shoumi. It gave no further details on Shoumi. Eight victims were taken to the capital Sanaa in critical condition, while 22 were admitted to local hospitals with burns. "We received many cases at this hospital. We are giving them first aid. Some were treated here (and were later dismissed). Now we have 18 cases remaining in Amran hospital," said Mohammed Al Makhithi, a doctor at Amran hospital. Several people suffered from smoke inhalation in the attack, the third in Amran, Saba said. In 2001 a man opened fire at worshippers, killing three, and in 2003 a bomb in a mosque killed one man and wounded 50, it said. Government officials say at least 250 rebels and about 120 soldiers have been killed since January in a campaign against followers of Shi'ite Muslim rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. Yemen, the ancestral homeland of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, joined the U.S.-led war on terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Houthi's supporters are not linked to al Qaeda.

ITN Source | April 8, 2007

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