Car bomb kills 23 in Yemen
The official said authorities suspected Al-Qaeda was behind the attack, though it would be the extremist organization's first reported direct assault on the country's Shiite minority.
Yemen's local branch of Al-Qaeda has been increasingly active over the past year, assaulting government targets inside the country as well carrying high profile attacks abroad such as last month's attempt to ship parcel bombs to the US through cargo planes.
While the militants have always been rhetorically extremely hostile to Shiites, they have not attacked them directly in Yemen, unlike in Iraq where the sectarian warfare is more pronounced.
The Yemeni official said the attack took place in Al-Jawf province, 175 km northeast of the capital, Sanaa and those killed were supporters of the Houthi rebels, a tribal group which has waged an on-and-off uprising against the government.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.
A Houthi spokesman confirmed the casualties and added that the rebels also suspected Al-Qaeda involvement. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisals.
"It was a suicide bombing and it was the work of Al-Qaeda," a tribal chief said. "The suicide bomber driving a four-wheel drive vehicle blew himself up alongside the procession," he said.
"Among the dead was provincial tribal chief Hussein bin Ahmed bin Hadhban and his son."
The attack comes two months after Al-Qaeda accused the Houthis of nabbing two of its members and handing them over to the security chief of Saada province.
Since January 2009, when Al-Qaeda's battered Saudi and Yemeni branches merged to form Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the terror group has become increasingly emboldened, directing attacks in the capital and across the countryside against officials and foreigners.
The mountains of Al-Jawf and neighboring Saada and Amran provinces have been a stronghold of the rebels in the uprising they have been waging against the Sanaa government on and off for the past six years, Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.
