Sanaa: A suicide bomber killed at least 23 people in central Yemen on Wednesday when he blew himself up at a cultural centre where students were celebrating the Prophet Muhammad's birthday, state news agency Saba said.

At least 48 people were also injured, including many women and children, the deputy director of the provincial health department said, according to Saba. The celebration, in the city of Ibb, was organised by the Houthis, the group that controls most of Yemen.

The culture centre that was the target of a suicide bomber in central Yemen. Credit:Reuters

No one claimed responsibility for attack, but it resembles bombings carried out by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which operates in Yemen. AQAP regards Shiites, the sect of Islam to which the Houthis belong, as heretics. Puritan Sunnis, including the militants of al-Qaeda, regard the celebration of prophets' birthdays as idolatry.



Tensions have increased in Yemen since the Houthis captured Sanaa in September and expanded south and west of the capital. The Western-allied country, which shares a long border with the world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, had been trying to overcome an al-Qaeda threat before the Houthi advance.