Investigation reveals mortar attack, suspects interviewed

The preliminary investigation into the attack on Houthis revealed that a Mortar shell was fired from a southwest area towards the attack site that's based north the capital, Sana'a, said a security source.

First accounts, including of Houthis, had suggested the attack was a mix of machine guns and grenades in addition to an explosive bomb that went off on 24 November as group of Houthis were leaving a religious celebration.

The security source, speaking anonymously for not being authorized to talk to press, said the type of attack was neither a suicide bomb nor RPG, as claimed. "It was a Mortar Shell 120," the security source said, "launched from a southwest area towards the gathering, as today's investigation revealed."

 The source said the attackers identities have yet to be revealed and that the range of the shell's speed amounts to 16 kms from the launching point. He added that the first report was submitted to the Interior Minister, Abdulkader Qahtan, and that the investigation will further focus on interviewing suspects known to be Houthis's main rivals.

 He said the investigation committee 'informally questioned' three parties: al-Ahmar sons, defected General Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar, and Sheikh Abdulmajeed al-Zindani, who all are pillars of the Islah Party and have been in intense feud with Houthis over ideological and territory expansion grounds.

The source added that all of the questioned parties, except Zindani, "categorically denied" the charges, the source said. The three parties' strongholds lie in the vicinity of the attack scene. Muhamed Miftah, Chairman of the Preparatory Committee of the Umma (Nation) party, an affiliate of the Houthi party had earlier accused the leadership of the interim government for the bombing. "I do hold the interim government authority responsible for what happened today," said Miftah, "as they're also responsible for previous bombings, including suicide bombings… fueling a sectarian war." Miftah said that most of those attacked were from al-Umma party and that the party was comprised of people from "all walks of Yemeni life". 

The Houthis have always accused the Islah party, now leading the interim government, of fueling a sectarian war and hardliners from the Islah party consider most of the Houthi rituals including Ashura to be 'heretical'.

 The bombing, which killed three people and injured 9 others, marks the first sectarian attack in the capital, after a series of similar attacks against the Houthis in their stronghold of northern Yemen.