News / Yemen

Gunmen assassinate Muslim clergyman in southern Yemen

Saturday, 23 July 2016 7:33 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 23 July 2016 8:33 AM ]

An injured Yemeni man is carried on a stretcher at a hospital following twin bombings in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden on May 23, 2016. (© AFP)

Unidentified armed man have shot and killed a Muslim clergyman in Yemen’s port city of Aden on a day which also featured fresh Saudi bombardments, leaving some people dead.

Local sources said gumen, carrying firearms fitted with silencers, attacked Sheikh Abdulrahman al-Zuhri as he left al-Rahman Mosque after leading dawn prayers Saturday, the Huna Aden news website reported.

Sheikh Zuhri was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his gunshot wounds, it added.

This file photo shows Sheikh Abdulrahman al-Zuhri who was shot and killed by a group of unknown gunmen on July 23, 2016.

In the capital Sana'a, a grenade exploded outside a mosque as worshipers were leaving after midday prayers.

There were no injuries or casualties and no group claimed responsibility for the explosion under a parked car by the Bilal mosque in western Sana'a.

Takfiri militants have exploited Saudi attacks on Yemen over the past 16 months to strike at various targets and wreak havoc.

The Houthis have controlled Sana'a since 2014 when former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi stepped down and fled to Aden before taking refuge in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia launched a ferocious military campaign then to restore Hadi to power and crush the Houthi movement. More than 9,400 people have reportedly been killed in Saudi airstrikes.

Hadi loyalists and allies from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia control Aden and have pledged to win back control of the capital.

Daesh said it carried out an attack on a mosque in Sanaa last September that killed 10 worshipers.

Early Saturday, warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes in Nihm district of Sana'a Province as well as the city of Sirwah, with no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

On Friday, at least 20 civilians sustained injuries when Saudi warplanes struck areas close to Hajar dam in Majz district of the northwestern Sa’adah province.

People had reportedly massed near the dam to cool off amid simmering summer temperatures when the airstrike took place.

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