Suicide bombers attacked two mosques in Yemen during Friday noon prayers, killing at least 126 people and injuring hundreds of others.  Authorities say the death toll may continue to rise.   

The Islamic State, a group that had seized many areas in Iraq and Syria had claimed responsibility for the attacks. Earlier groups loyal to the Islamic State had been sending out tweets welcoming the attacks.

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Three blasts rocked the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques in the capital Sanaa during midday prayer on Friday, when most people come to worship.

The attack comes a day after an unidentified warplane targeted the presidential palace in the southern city of Aden, forcing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee.

At least one witness said he heard two blasts that targeted the Badr mosque, killing the Imam and a Houthi religious leader.  Two other senior Houthi leaders were wounded. 

 "I was going to pray at the mosque then I heard the first explosion, and a second later I heard another one," the witness said.

The attacks left the two mosques shattered and filled with traces of blood from the wounded and the dead. 

A father was seen carrying his wounded child in his arms, and other people bringing out their dead.  Others searched for their loved ones who somehow lost the grip in the middle of the commotion.

The third suicide bomber blew himself up in one of the mosques in the northern part of Sadaa province.  There were no casualties, except for the bomber.

Hospitals in Sanaa have appealed for blood donors particularly for those severely wounded in the attacks.

The two mosques in Sanaa are mostly used by the Shi'ite Muslim Houthi group.

Yemen had been embroiled in a months-long turmoil involving a power struggle between the Houthi's and the U.N.-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Early this year, the Houthis raided the presidential palace and placed the president and his cabinet under house arrest.  The group then dissolved the parliament and formed its new interim assembly.  Hadi then fled to Aden and set up a rival government backed by Sunni-led Gulf Arab states.

Tagsyemen, suicide attack, ISIS, Mosques