Islamic State claims responsibility for deadly blasts in Yemen

The Islamic State group in Yemen is claiming responsibility for two bombings in the capital of Sanaa Reuters reports. So far, the attacks have left at least 20 people dead and dozens of others injured. The total death toll is expected to rise.

The blasts occurred at a mosque in Sanaa Wednesday during evening prayers. A suicide bomber apparently detonated himself near the mosque, and shortly afterwards a car bomb at the front of the mosque exploded as worshippers fled the building.

The latest explosions are set against a backdrop of violence of a civil war. Although the Iran-allied Houthi militia holds much of the Yemen, a coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia has been trying since March to reinstate the government, which is currently in exile in Riyadh.