At Least 50 Killed In Blasts Targeting Houthi Strongholds, Military Bases In Yemen

At least 50 people, including children, were killed in two separate blasts in Yemen, which targeted a gathering of Shia Houthi rebels in Sanaa and two military bases in the eastern province of Hadramout on Thursday, according to an Al Jazeera report.

A police officer stationed near the scene of the attack in Sanaa reportedly said that a man, apparently wearing a suicide belt, approached a checkpoint guarded by Houthi rebels and “then exploded amidst the security and ordinary people nearby.”

In Hadramout province, at least seven government soldiers were killed in the attack, which reportedly involved a suicide car bombing and a gun assault on a military camp.

An unknown number of people were reportedly injured in the attacks, which came just a day after Houthi rebel leaders called for a demonstration in the streets of Sanaa to protest President Abed Raboo Mansour Hadi’s decision to nominate Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak for the prime minister's post.

Mubarak was due to be appointed as prime minister as part of a peace deal brokered by the United Nations but his nomination was rejected by the Houthis, who reportedly labeled him an “agent of the U.S.”

Following threats by the Houthis to restart protests in Sanaa, Mubarak turned down his nomination on Thursday, according to local media reports.

While no one has claimed responsibility for Thursday's attacks yet, al Qaeda militants are suspected to be behind it, according to media reports. In recent months, the Sunni Islamist group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, has targeted a number of Houthi strongholds in and around Sanaa, killing hundreds.