Suicide Car Bombing Attacks Shi’ite School in Yemen, 14 Killed

Ansar al-Sharia Takes Credit for the Attack, Targeted 'Apostates'

A suicide car bombing tore through a Shi’ite school in the Jawf Province of northern Yemen, killing at least 14 people including a small child. The slain were followers of the Houthi, a Shi’ite secessionist faction in the north.

Attacks against the Houthis in the far north have mostly been the work of Salafist tribesmen loyal to the former Saleh regime, though a few incidents have involved al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Ansar al-Sharia, the group that operates the southern Abyan Province as an independent emirate, took credit for today’s attack, saying that it had targeted “apostates.” This is a common label among Sunni militants for Shi’ites.

Ansar al-Sharia’s statement put the overall death toll at “more than 20.” Houthi leaders say the suspected attacker had tried to infiltrate a meeting earlier, and attacked the school as a secondary target.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.