5 killed, 11 injured in blast targeting political party headquarters in Yemen

By Mohammed Sameai and Betul Yilmaz

HADRAMOUT / ISTANBUL – Five people were killed and 11 others injured when a bomb explosion hit the headquarters of a political party in Yemen on Thursday, police said.

Al-Islah Party, Yemen’s largest Islamic party, said in a statement that the bomb attack struck its office in Taiz city, southwest of the capital Sanaa, killing and injuring several people, including women and children.

Two party leaders – Ibrahim al-Sharai and Abdul Jalil Moqbel – were killed in the attack, the statement said.

The party called on security authorities to assume their responsibilities to protect citizens and institutions and bring the perpetrators to justice.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Taiz police said that a number of suspects have been arrested in connection with the bombing.

Al-Islah Party is a main backer of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

Since the outbreak of the Yemeni conflict in 2015, dozens of Al-Islah Party leaders and members have been assassinated, particularly in southern Yemen.

Yemen has seen a relative state of calm since April 2022, when a truce halted hostilities between government forces and the Houthi group that erupted in September 2014 when the Iran-aligned Houthis seized Sanaa.