Islamic States Yemen branch claimed responsibility for a car blast outside a mosque used by the Houthis on 20 July that police sources and medics said killed five people and wounded seven others.

The blast hit the Moeed mosque in Sanaa, which is used by the Houthis, the police sources said, and is close to the house of one of their leaders.

There was about 4 or 5 martyrs after the explosion as well as around four wounded. A couple of bodies were torn apart from the explosion, they may have been the bodies of the bombers themselves, said Walid Al Sarmi, an eyewitness.

The Houthis are pushing for more rights for Yemens Zaydi Shiite Muslims, regarded as heretics by the militant Sunni Islamic State.