SAADA, Yemen, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- A car bomb exploded and killed at least 40 people in a funeral procession in Yemen's northern province of Saada Friday, officials said.
The victims were Shiite rebels en route to the funeral of Bader al-Deen al-Houthi, a spiritual leader of the Houthis, who died Thursday, Xinhua reported.
"Some witnesses said the suicide car bomb was coming with the convoy of about 20 cars from Marib," a source told Xinhua. "Houthi rebels have cordoned off the whole area and prevented local authorities from entering the area to investigate the deadly attack."
A car-bomb explosion hit a Yemeni Shiite convoy in the country's northern province of al-Jouf on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people, including the attackers, Xinhua reported.
"We have reports that al-Qaida has expanded its operations towards northern areas located in the Yemeni-Saudi joint border long ago, and what happened today was not the first operation of al-Qaida," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
