Extremists blow up 16-century mosque in Yemen

People gather among the rubble of a mosque that was blown up by explosive devices in an attack in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen, on Saturday. There were no casualties and no groups have claimed responsibility for the attack, according to local media. (REUTERS/Anees Mahyoub)

ADEN, YEMEN: Sunni radicals in Yemen have blown up a 16th century mosque in the city of Taiz, a local official said Sunday.
Gunmen led by a Salafist local chief known as Abu Al-Abbas blew up the mosque of Sheikh Abdulhadi Al-Sudi on Friday night, the official told AFP, confirming media reports of the attack.
Yemen’s commission for antiquities and museums condemned the destruction of the site that is considered the most famous in Taiz.
It said the mosque’s white dome was “one of the biggest domes in Yemen and one of the most beautiful religious sites in old Taiz.”
Images of the site before destruction showed a white square-shaped, single-story structure topped by a large central dome circled by smaller ones.
Taiz city is besieged by Shiite rebels, but the city itself is controlled by a combination of forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and allied militias.
Residents have complained of the growing influence of radical Salafists, who have been imposing curbs on mixing between men and women.
While Al-Qaeda and Daesh group jihadists have been under attack by both government and rebel forces as well as US drones, Salafists operate under the banner of pro-government militias fighting the Iran-backed Shiite rebels.