A 27-year-old maternity journalist was killed on her way to an Aden hospital when an improvised explosive device placed in her husband’s car exploded, government security officials said, and her husband was injured.
The device, which was placed in the car of Mahmoud al-Atmi, also a journalist, was detonated as the couple rushed to the hospital, where the young woman was to give birth to their second child, a government security official explained.Remaining Time-0:00FullscreenMute
“The bomb exploded as journalist Mahmoud al-Atmi took his wife, Rasa Abdallah, to the hospital to give birth,” said the official, who asked not to be named.
The two journalists worked for various local and international Arabic-language media. The couple had already had another child, aged two today.
No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack in Aden, the interim seat of the caretaker government. Mr Atmi, however, believes it was the work of Shiite Houthi rebels, who have been fighting the internationally recognized government since 2014.
“They were looking for my home address,” he said.
There have been several bombings in Aden that authorities attribute to the Houthis and others for which the Islamic State jihadist group has claimed responsibility.
On October 30, at least 12 civilians, including children, were killed in a car bomb blast near Aden airport.
Yemen has been plunged for more than seven years into a bloody armed conflict between government troops and Houthis, Shi’ite insurgents who have taken over much of the northern part of the country, including the capital Sanaa.
Following the Houthi occupation of the capital, the government temporarily relocated its headquarters to Aden.
The Houthis are politically backed by Iran, and the government has been backed since March 2015 by a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia, the Sunni kingdom bordering Yemen and Tehran’s main rival in the region.
