DUBAI: A bomb attack in a market killed seven Yemeni civilians including a cameraman for a UAE television channel in the government-controlled town of Mokha on Tuesday.
At least 20 people were wounded in the overnight blast in the Red Sea town, where pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthi militants are based.
The blast killed Ziad Al-Sharabi, a cameraman for Abu Dhabi TV and wounded Faisal Al-Thubhani, a correspondent for the same network, the official WAM news agency reported.
استشهاد الزميل زياد الشرعبي مصور قناة أبوظبي وإصابة الزميل فيصل الذبحاني مراسل قناة ابوظبي في تفجير استهدف مطعماً في #المخا
رحمك الله يا زياد ونسأله تعالى الشفاء العاجل للزميل @FAthubhani@RSF_ar @CPJMENA pic.twitter.com/IbHJeaRUBE— جمال الحربي (@JALHARBISKY) January 28, 2019
Abu Dhabi Media general manager, Dr Ali bin Tamim blamed the Houthi militia for the attack and said they have repeatedly targeted the media.
“This is not the first time that our frontline crews in Yemen have been exposed to Houthi violations and terrorist acts,” he said. “We will not stop exposing their brutal crimes and terror acts in Yemen on all our media platforms.”
The improvised explosive device was planted on a motorcycle parked in the middle of the market, an official in the pro-government forces said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Yemeni government news agency Saba blamed it on the Iran-aligned Houthis.
The city of Mokha has enjoyed relative calm since government forces, backed by an Arab coalition that includes the UAE and Saudi Arabia, seized it from the rebels in July 2017.
Yemen’s war was sparked by the Houthis decision to seize the capital Sanaa in 2014.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said, prior to Al-Sharabi’s death, that at least 16 journalists have been killed in Yemen since 2015.
