Suicide bombings in Yemen kill dozens of people. CNN

Fighters inspect the damage at the Al Badr Mosque. AFP

Multiple suicide bombings in Yemen have killed at least 100 people. CNN. Two mosques, the Al Badr and the Al Hashoosh, both in Yemen's capital of Sanna were targeted in the attack, which also wounded 300 people. The Shia mosques were frequented by the Houthi rebel group, that recently forced the President of Yemen to flee. The attacks come as conflict between the Houthi rebel group and the Sunni majority government come to a head. Fighting between the groups have become more fierce, but have been mostly contained to the port city of Aden. Houthi rebels were even able to launch an airstrike into Aden. No terrorist group has taken responsibility for the mosque attacks. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has vowed attacks against the Houthi rebels but it is unclear if this attack was their work. The attacks were sophisticated, with the same pattern of attack happening in both locations. A suicide bomber detonated inside the mosques while a car bomb exploded outside. 

My Comment:

Looks like Yemen is going to further descend into the sectarian conflict that is burning the entire Muslim world right now. It is unclear who is responsible for this attack but I can tell you that they were almost certainly Sunni Muslims. My strong suspicion is that it would be AQAP though. They are a fairly sophisticated terrorist group and they are fairly skilled at bombings. As you may remember, AQAP were the ones that pulled off the Charlie Hebdo attacks, so they are trying to make a bigger name for themselves. Blowing up a couple of mosques filled with Shia Muslims would meet there objectives. 

I haven't been following the strife in Yemen all that closely, mostly because it is nothing new. I do know that the chaos did have a major impact on U.S. efforts to hamper AQAP. With the Houthis taking over, and the formally loyal government being all but kicked out of power, the United States does not have many options. I doubt the Houthis would work with the United States even under these circumstances, and I am guessing the distrust is more then mutual. All this creates a vacuum where groups like AQAP can operate freely. When that happens, attacks like the one we saw today are inevitable. 

Once again, this is yet another battle in the larger conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims. We are seeing that in Iraq, and to a lesser extent, Syria. To see it expand to Yemen as well is not good. I have no doubt that Iran is supporting the Houthi rebels, the same way they support the Iraqi government and the regime of Bashar Al-Assad. Iran wants to be seen as not only the strongest secular power in the Middle East but as the leader of the Muslim religion. Sunni Muslims obviously don't see it the same way and are stuck between two factions. The less extreme secular governments are having huge problems with the extremist rebel and terrorist groups that want to bring the fight to Iran and her proxies.

 The weakness of the Sunni governments, the discrimination on all sides and the terrible acts of terrorism are further driving a wedge between Sunni and Shia Islam. The wounds are much, much older then that but the modern world is doing its best to make sure those wounds stay raw and open. It's an age old conflict and the only solutions is for both sides to talk to each other or for one side to get wiped out. Since neither of those things are likely to happen, expect the Middle East to be a basket-case, with both side stuck in the cycle of revenge, for the foreseeable future.