White House: No ISIS links to Yemen attacks

by Mark Hensch - 03/20/15 1:30 PM ET

The Obama administration Friday denied that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) played a role in twin suicide bombings earlier in the day in Yemen.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said no evidence existed that ISIS participated in the mosque strikes in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital.

{mosads}Earnest did confirm the U.S. was investigating a possible ISIS role in the blasts. He added that American intelligence was researching what command structure the terrorist group had present in Yemen.

The attackers struck during noon prayers at al-Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques. At least four reported bombers killed 137 people and wounded 300 more.

Earnest said ISIS often claims credit for terrorist acts for their propaganda value. He added that the explosions highlight the group’s threat to security in the Middle East, including to Muslims.

Some ISIS supporters Friday claimed the group committed the attacks. Those claims could not be verified independently.

The Obama administration also rejected ISIS’s claims of participation in Wednesday’s shooting at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis, Tunisia. That incident killed 23, and Tunisian police have since arrested nine suspects.

Friday’s bombings targeted mosques associated with the Houthis, a Shiite group that took over Yemen’s government last year.

Former Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fled rebel forces Feb. 21 and has since fortified in Aden, his hometown in Yemen’s southern portion.

The State Department suspended embassy operations in Yemen on Feb. 10 before Hadi’s ouster. Germany, Italy and Saudi Arabia followed suit later that month.

Terrorists have long had an active presence in Yemen. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has committed similar atrocities against Houthis in the past.

Friday’s violence marks another slip in the Obama administration’s strategies abroad involving Yemen. President Obama has hailed it as a counterterrorism success in the past and has even transferred detainees there from Guantanamo Bay.

Some Republicans have criticized Obama for failures in the region. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said last month chaos in Yemen was proof of the president’s “failing foreign policy.”

Tags Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Josh Earnest Yemen