By Ali Oweida
SANAA
Shiite Houthi militants were on Sunday the target of three separate attacks in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, the eastern province of Maarib and the central province of Al-Bayda'.
Ansar Al-Sharia, an Al-Qaeda-linked group, claimed responsibility for two of the attacks.
It said in a message on Twitter that it had killed six Houthi militants and injured scores of others in these attacks.
The group said it had killed the six Houthi militants in the central province of Al-Bayda'.
It added that it had ambushed a car carrying six Houthis who were on their way to Rada'a, the provincial capital of Al-Bayda'.
Local residents, meanwhile, said the six victims belonged to a family loyal to Houthis.
They added that the attackers had also burned down the car after killing all passengers inside.
Earlier in the day, two people were injured when a roadside explosive charge went off near a Houthi checkpoint in northern Sanaa, eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency.
"The charge went off as a car passed, leaving two passengers injured," said one witness, noting that the two victims were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Ansar Al-Sharia claimed responsibility earlier in the day for a car bombing, targeting Houthi militants in Majzar, a district of the eastern Maarib province.
The group said in a Twitter message that it had carried out a car bombing that had left several Houthis dead and injured.
A booby-trapped car exploded immediately after entering the July 7 Hospital, which had been occupied by Houthi militants and turned into a military garrison.
Ambulances and an armored vehicle were seen taking the victims to Baraqish, an area controlled by Houthis in the northern Al-Jawf province.
The two attacks came only one week after the Shiite militants had taken control of the capital Sanaa.
Sanaa fell in the hands of the Houthis after almost three weeks of protests and confrontations with army troops and policemen.
A week ago, Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi – faced with massive pro-Houthi demonstrations that paralyzed the capital – signed a deal with the Houthi leadership aimed at ending the weeks-long political standoff.
The deal calls for the formation of a new government; the appointment of a nonpartisan prime minister; and the appointment of a Houthi adviser to the president.
Yemen has been dogged by political turmoil since the 2012 ouster of longtime ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh.
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