Suicide car bombing in Yemen blamed on Al-Qaeda kills 23 Zaidi Shiites preparing to celebrate Al-Ghadeer celebration in the country's north

The suicide car bomber attacked a convoy of cars heading for Al-Ghadeer celebration, which commemorates the anointment of Ali, a key Shiite figure, as successor to Mohammed. 

It killed 23 supporters and fighter of the Zaidi Shiite rebels, who are in an uneasy truce with the government, including tribal chief Hussein bin Ahmed bin Hadhban and his son.

Al-Jawf province where the attack took place is in the Sunni majority country's north where the minority Shiites make up the majority.

A tribal chief blamed Al-Qaeda for the attack but rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam told AFP that

[the attack was an attempt by] "American and Israeli intelligence services to plunge Yemen into confessional and tribal conflict."

Source: AFP

Comment: Yemen might be heading for Iraqi style Sunni-Shiite civil war and terror attacks.

Abdulsalam is playing the 'blame game' against the U.S. and Israel, which is similar to what Shiite Iran has also been accused of doing.

He might also be trying to discredit his group's opponents in the eyes of anti-American and anti-Israel public or sections of it there by linking them to the U.S. and Israel.


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