Violence flares up in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen, May 26 (UPI) -- Al-Qaida's offshoot in Yemen, Ansar al Sharia, claimed responsibility for suicide attacks against al-Houthi, a Shiite rebel group in al-Jawf ,officials said.

Ansar al-Sharia targeted a Shiite community in al-Jawf, a northern Yemeni province, when a suicide bomber infiltrated a rally held by al-Houthi and detonated his explosive belt.

Al Masdar online quoted a statement from Ansar al-Sharia as saying Saturday that the bomb had killed 20 Shiites and wounded 10.

Al-Houthi leaders denied the claim in a Saturday press conference, saying the bomb missed its target, injuring and killing none of the attendees.

Mareb Press said Saturday that in another village in al-Jawf province a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a school where many al-Houthi militants had gathered, killing at least 14 including passersby.