WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Washington is concerned about Islamic State (ISIL) terrorists operating outside Iraq and Syria, but cannot yet confirm they are responsible for the terrorist attack in Yemen on Friday, US State Department spokesperson Jeff Rathke told journalists.
“We are of course concerned about the presence of ISIL-affiliated [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] terrorists outside of Iraq and Syria,” Rathke said on Friday.
“We haven’t formed the conclusion yet about the responsibility of this particular attack,” the State Department spokesperson said.
At least 150 people were killed and 345 injured when four suicide bombers blew themselves up in Badr and Al-Hashhoosh mosques in Sanaa, local law enforcement and healthcare sources told Sputnik on Friday.
The ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack, according to local media.
The ISIL is a Sunni jihadist group that has seized vast territories in Iraq and Syria, and proclaimed a caliphate on the territories under its control. It is known for mass killings, including executions of foreign hostages.
Militants and extremist groups that have pledged allegiance to the ISIL extremists currently operate in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Egypt and Nigeria.
