ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Triple suicide bombers hit a pair of mosques crowded with worshippers in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Friday, killing 46 and injuring 100 others, according to medical officials. The attackers targeted mosques controlled by Shiite rebels. 
 
 A report on the rebel-owned Al-Masirah TV channel said the bombers attacked the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques during midday prayers on Friday, traditionally the most crowded time of the week. There was no immediate casualty report. It added that hospitals were urging citizens to donate blood. 
 
 Witnesses said that at least two suicide bombers attacked inside the Badr mosque. One walked inside the mosque and detonated his device, causing panic as dozens of worshippers rushed toward the outside gates. A second suicide bomber then attacked amid the panicked crowds trying to escape. 
 
 One witness at the al-Hashoosh mosque, located in Sanaa's northern district, said that he was thrown two meters away by the blast. 
 
 "The heads, legs and arms of the dead people were scattered on the floor of the mosque," Mohammed al-Ansi told The Associated Press, adding, "blood is running like a river." 
 
 Al-Ansi added that many of those who didn't die in the explosion were seriously injured by shattered glass falling from the mosque's windows. He recalled running for the door along with other survivors and hearing one man screaming, "come back, save the injured!" 
 
 The Shiite TV network aired footage from inside al-Hashoosh mosque, where screaming volunteers were using bloodied blankets to carry away victims. One of the dead included a small child. Corpses were lined up on the mosque floor and carried away in pick-up trucks. 
 
 The attacks come a day after intense gun battles in the southern city of Aden, between rival troops loyal to Yemen's former and current president, left 13 dead and forced closure of the city's international airport. 
 
 The Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, swept down from their northern strongholds and seized the capital in September. Allied with ousted former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, they now control at least nine of Yemen's 21 provinces. Earlier this year they put Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, the western-backed president, under house arrest. Hadi has since fled to the southern city of Aden, where he established a temporary capital and maintains he is still the legitimate president. 
 
 There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Yemen is home to a powerful al-Qaida branch, but there has also been a growing presence among supporters of the Islamic State group. 
 
 Some IS supporters on social media claimed the group carried out the bombing. The claim could not be confirmed, but if true it would be group's first major attack in Yemen. ||||| Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) The Sunni terror group ISIS purportedly claimed it committed Friday's bombings that killed scores of people at two mosques frequented by Shiite rebels in Yemen's capital -- an attack that would mark ISIS's first large-scale attack in the Arabian Peninsula country. 
 
 At least 137 people were killed and 357 wounded when suicide bombers, pretending to be disabled and hiding explosives under casts, attacked the mosques in Sanaa, according to Yemen's state-run Saba news agency. 
 
 Video distributed by Reuters showed people removing bodies from one of the mosques, where a carpeted floor was littered with debris. 
 
 Houthi fighters carry the body of a man killed in Sanaa on March 20. 
 
 Houthi fighters carry the body of a man killed in Sanaa on March 20. 
 
 People stand amid bodies covered with blankets in a mosque after a suicide attack in Sanaa on March 20. 
 
 People stand amid bodies covered with blankets in a mosque after a suicide attack in Sanaa on March 20. 
 
 A wounded man lies on a bed at a hospital after the bombings in Sanaa on March 20. 
 
 A wounded man lies on a bed at a hospital after the bombings in Sanaa on March 20. 
 
 Men carry the body of a man killed in the March 20 attacks. 
 
 Men carry the body of a man killed in the March 20 attacks. 
 
 The body of a person killed in the attacks is carried to a hospital in Sanaa on March 20. 
 
 The body of a person killed in the attacks is carried to a hospital in Sanaa on March 20. 
 
 Houthi fighters stand near a damaged car after bombings in Sanaa on March 20. The attacks started with suicide bombings inside the buildings, followed shortly by explosions outside, two senior Houthi leaders said. 
 
 Houthi fighters stand near a damaged car after bombings in Sanaa on March 20. The attacks started with suicide bombings inside the buildings, followed shortly by explosions outside, two senior Houthi leaders said. 
 
 A casualty is wheeled to a hospital after the bombing attacks in Sanaa on March 20. 
 
 A casualty is wheeled to a hospital after the bombing attacks in Sanaa on March 20. 
 
 Armed men inspect damage after an explosion at Al Badr mosque in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday, March 20. Deadly explosions in Yemen's capital rocked two mosques serving a minority Muslim group that recently conquered the city. The mosques serve members of the Zaidi sect of Shiite Islam, which is followed by the Houthi rebels who recently took control of the capital. 
 
 Armed men inspect damage after an explosion at Al Badr mosque in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday, March 20. Deadly explosions in Yemen's capital rocked two mosques serving a minority Muslim group that recently conquered the city. The mosques serve members of the Zaidi sect of Shiite Islam, which is followed by the Houthi rebels who recently took control of the capital. 
 
 If ISIS committed the attack, it would be not only a new challenge to the minority Houthis who took control of Sanaa weeks ago, but also a challenge to ISIS's rival, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Sunni extremists more associated with Yemen. 
 
 It would also illustrate a seemingly expanding focus for ISIS, which controls parts of Syria and Iraq and earlier this week claimed responsibility for Wednesday's killings of tourists at a museum in Tunisia 
 
 Regardless, Friday's attacks marked one of the worst days of recent violence during a complicated struggle for control of Yemen, where Houthi rebels -- Shiites in a predominantly Sunni country -- already faced resistance from AQAP and from supporters of ousted President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi. 
 
 A written statement, purportedly from ISIS, claimed that ISIS executed Friday's attacks, calling them "a tip of an iceberg." 
 
 The statement, posted on a site that previously carried ISIS proclamations, said five suicide bombers targeted Houthis in Sanaa. 
 
 A separate audio message, also posted on ISIS-affiliated websites, claimed five ISIS suicide bombers killed dozens of "Houthi infidels." The voice is similar to one featured in Thursday's audio message in which ISIS claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack at the Bardo Museum in Tunisia 
 
 CNN cannot independently verify the legitimacy of Friday's statements. 
 
 Among those killed in Sanaa was prominent Houthi religious leader Murtatha Al Mahathwari, Saba reported. 
 
 A separate explosion rocked a government compound in the Houthi stronghold city of Saada -- 180 kilometers (112 miles) northeast of Sanaa -- killing two people and seriously wounding a third, according to Abu Khalil Al Ameri, a local Houthi security official. 
 
 If ISIS executed Friday's bombings, it would be a "big deal indeed," in part because ISIS was thought to have only a fledgling presence in Yemen, CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said. 
 
 "The dominant group there is al Qaeda in Yemen. ISIS and al Qaeda in Yemen can't stand each other," Cruickshank said. "But ... whoever is responsible, I think, (is) trying plunge the country into civil war." 
 
 That's a complication for a number of parties, including the United States, which until the Houthis took Sanaa had counted on the Yemeni government for support in its long-running battle against AQAP. 
 
 Blasts inside, outside mosques 
 
 In Friday's assaults at Al Badr mosque and Al Hashoosh mosque in Sanaa, the first blasts happened inside the buildings, followed two minutes later by explosions outside, perhaps to target those fleeing the preliminary blasts, two senior Houthi leaders in Sanaa said. 
 
 At Al Badr mosque, the outdoor explosion was another suicide bombing; at Al Hashoosh mosque, the exterior blast was a car bomb, the two leaders said. 
 
 "We check people and watch at times, but it's a mosque, and we can't check everyone who enters," said Ali Al Emad, a Houthi security worker at Al Hashoosh mosque. 
 
 The mosques serve members of the Zaidi sect of Shiite Islam, the sect to which the rebel Houthi militants belong. 
 
 Among the wounded are 40 people who are in critical condition; they will be sent to Jordan for treatment, reported Saba, which is controlled by the Houthis. 
 
 AQAP, which last year vowed to attack Houthi loyalists throughout Yemen, issued a statement saying it had nothing to do with Friday's bombings. 
 
 Houthis have Sanaa, launched airstrike in Aden 
 
 The mosque attacks came six months after the Houthis -- who have long felt marginalized by the majority Sunnis in Yemen and have battled the central government for more than a decade -- entered Sanaa. That sparked battles that left than 300 people dead before a ceasefire was agreed to that month. 
 
 The Houthis gradually took control, seizing the presidential palace in January and forcing President Hadi to resign. 
 
 Hadi initially was put under house arrest, but he escaped last month, fleeing to the southern port city of Aden and declaring himself still President. 
 
 The Houthis took control of military forces stationed near Sanaa, including the air force, as they overtook the central government there in January. 
 
 Though the Houthis hold sway in Yemen's north, they have less influence in the south. Clashes between Houthi-controlled forces and military units still loyal to Hadi stepped up this week in Aden, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) southeast of Sanaa. 
 
 Thursday, a Yemeni jet commanded by the Houthis fired missiles at a palace where Hadi was taking refuge in Aden, injuring no one but marking an escalation in the fighting. 
 
 The jet flew from Sanaa to the palace in Aden, where the jet conducted the strikes, a senior air force official said on condition of anonymity. 
 
 Hadi was at the palace compound when the first missile struck the grounds, but he fled safely, a Hadi aide said, also on condition of anonymity. 
 
 A second missile struck near the compound but, like the first, injured no one, two officials in Aden said. 
 
 The airstrikes came on the same day that opposing Yemeni military forces -- those loyal to the Houthis, and those led by officers loyal to Hadi -- battled in Aden, leaving at least 13 people dead and 21 others injured, Aden Gov. AbdulAziz Hobtour said. 
 
 Some of the forces loyal to the Houthis also are loyal to Hadi's predecessor, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who resigned in 2012 after months of "Arab Spring" protests inspired in part by a 2011 revolution in Egypt. Hadi was Saleh's vice president before taking over. 
 
 Houthi takeover stunned West 
 
 The United States, which still considers Hadi to be Yemen's legitimate President, "strongly condemns" both Friday's mosque bombings and Thursday's airstrikes in Yemen and expressed its condolences to the victims' families and loved ones, according to a White House statement. 
 
 "This unconscionable attack on Muslim worshipers during Friday prayers only further highlights the depth of the terrorists' depravity and the threat they pose to the people of Yemen, the region, and the world," read the statement. "Today's attacks underscore that terrorism affects all Yemenis and that Yemen and its people must remain unified to confront these challenges." 
 
 An earlier statement from U.S. State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke specifically called on "the Houthis, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and their allies to stop their violent incitement and undermining of President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi ... the way forward for Yemen must be through a political solution." 
 
 Officials in Saudi Arabia urged all Yemeni political groups to take part in talks in Riyadh, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said. 
 
 King Salman ordered medical aid be sent to the victims in Sanaa and Aden, SPA reported, and said his country was ready to receive anyone critically wounded in the attacks. 
 
 The Houthi takeover of Sanaa stunned governments of Western nations, including the United States, which had a long relationship with Yemen's leader and worked with the regime to target AQAP militants. 
 
 U.S. officials frequently say AQAP is one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world, based on its attempts to attack U.S. interests, including an attempt to blow up an American jetliner over Detroit in December 2009. 
 
 The United States, along with most European and Persian Gulf countries, suspended operations in their embassies this year after the Houthis took Sanaa. 
 
 But the United States' anti-AQAP drone program in Yemen continued, with a U.S. drone strike killing senior AQAP cleric Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari and three other people in Shabwa province on January 31. ||||| SANAA, Yemen (AP) — President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi fled Yemen by sea Wednesday as Shiite rebels and their allies moved on his last refuge in the south, captured its airport and put a bounty on his head, officials said. 
 
 In this photo taken Tuesday, March 24, 2015, tanks seized recently by militiamen loyal to Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi take positions at the al-Anad air base in the southern province of Lahej,... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo taken Tuesday, March 24, 2015, militiamen loyal to Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi take positions at the al-Anad air base in the southern province of Lahej, 60 kilometers (35 miles)... (Associated Press) 
 
 People flee after a gunfire on a street in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, Wednesday, March 25, 2015. Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi fled the country by sea Wednesday on a boat from... (Associated Press) 
 
 Yemeni honor guards carry the coffins of victims, who were killed last week from triple suicide bombing attacks that hit a pair of mosques, during their funeral procession in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012 file photo, President Yemen Abdo Rabby Mansour Hadi briefs the media after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, unseen, at the chancellery in Berlin. Yemen's... (Associated Press) 
 
 Houthi Shiite mourners attend the funeral procession of victims who were killed last week from triple suicide bombing attacks that hit a pair of mosques in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, March 25, 2015. (AP... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012 file photo,Yemen's Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi gestures as he enters a polling center to cast his vote in Sanaa. Yemen's embattled president fled his palace... (Associated Press) 
 
 Houthi Shiite mourners attend the funeral procession of victims who were killed last week from triple suicide bombing attacks that hit a pair of mosques in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, March 25, 2015. (AP... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012 file photo, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, President of Yemen, sits after addressing the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters. Yemen's... (Associated Press) 
 
 People flee after a gunfire on a street in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, Wednesday, March 25, 2015. Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi fled the country by sea Wednesday on a boat from Aden,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Houthi Shiite mourners attend the funeral procession of victims who were killed last week from triple suicide bombing attacks that hit a pair of mosques in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, March 25, 2015. (AP... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo taken Tuesday, March 24, 2015, tanks seized recently by militiamen loyal to Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi take positions at the al-Anad air base in the southern province of Lahej,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Houthi Shiite fighters wearing an army uniform chant slogans during the funeral procession of victims who were killed last week from triple suicide bombing attacks that hit a pair of mosques in Sanaa,... (Associated Press) 
 
 The departure of the close U.S. ally and the imminent fall of the southern port of Aden pushed Yemen further toward a violent collapse. It also threatened to turn the impoverished but strategic country into another proxy battle between the Middle East's Sunni powers and Shiite-led Iran. 
 
 Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies believe the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, are tools for Iran to seize control of Yemen and say they intend to stop the takeover. The Houthis deny they are backed by Iran. 
 
 The crumbling of Hadi's government is a blow to Washington's counterterrorism strategy against al-Qaida's branch in Yemen, considered to be the most powerful in the terrorist network. Over the weekend, about 100 U.S. military advisers withdrew from the al-Annad air base where they had been leading a drone campaign against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP. 
 
 Yemen now faces fragmentation, with Houthis controlling much of the north, including the capital of Sanaa, and several southern provinces. In recent days, they took the third-largest city, Taiz, as well as much of the province of Lahj, both just to the north of Aden. 
 
 In fighting in Lahj, they captured Hadi's defense minister, Maj. Gen. Mahmoud al-Subaihi, and then swept into the nearby al-Annad base, which the U.S. military had left. 
 
 The Houthis are backed by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the autocrat who ruled Yemen for three decades until he was removed amid a 2011 Arab Spring uprising. Some of the best-equipped and trained military and security units remained loyal to Saleh and they have helped the Houthis in their rapid advance. 
 
 Hadi left Sanaa for Aden earlier this month after escaping house arrest under the Houthis, who overran the capital six months ago. In Aden, he had sought to make a last stand, claiming it as the temporary seat of what remained of his government, backed by allied militias and loyal army units. 
 
 With Houthis and Saleh forces closing in on multiple fronts, Hadi and his aides left Aden after 3:30 p.m. on two boats in the Gulf of Aden, security and port officials told The Associated Press. The officials would not specify his destination. 
 
 Saleh said in a speech two weeks ago that Hadi might head for the African country of Djibouti across the gulf, just as leaders of southern Yemen fled . 
 
 Hadi is scheduled to attend an Arab summit this weekend in Cairo, where Arab allies are to discuss forming a joint Arab force that could pave the way for military intervention against the Houthis. 
 
 The officials said Hadi had been preparing for the move since Sunday, when rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi vowed in a fiery speech that his forces will keep advancing south, referring to Hadi as a "puppet" of international powers. 
 
 Shortly after Hadi fled his palace in Aden, warplanes targeted presidential forces guarding it. No casualties were reported. By midday, Aden's airport fell into hands of forces loyal to Saleh based in the city after intense clashes with pro-Hadi militias. 
 
 Yemen's state TV, now controlled by the Houthis, announced a bounty of nearly $100,000 for Hadi's capture. 
 
 The Houthis still face multiple opponents. Sunni tribesmen and local militias are fighting them in many places around Yemen, and the rebels have little support in the south. 
 
 Some military units remain loyal to Hadi, although they are severely weakened. Alarmingly, al-Qaida militants have emerged as a powerful force against the rebels, and there are signs of a presence of the even more extremist Islamic State group. Last week, the group claimed responsibility for suicide bombings against the Houthis in Sanaa that killed 137 people. 
 
 AQAP is considered the terrorist group most dangerous to the U.S. because it successfully placed three bombs on U.S. bound airlines, although none exploded. U.S. officials acknowledge their efforts against AQAP are seriously hampered, with the U.S. Embassy closed and the last U.S. troops evacuated. 
 
 Although the Houthis are avowed enemies of al-Qaida, they can't project power against the militants the way the Hadi government could with U.S. support. The deeply anti-American rebels have rejected Washington's overtures, officials say. 
 
 Hadi's exit is a humiliating reversal, coming in large part at the hands of Saleh, the man he replaced in 2012 under a deal that allowed the former leader to remain free. 
 
 The atmosphere in Aden was tense, with most schools, government offices, shops and restaurants closed. In the few cafes still open, men watched the news on TV. Looters went through two abandoned army camps, taking weapons and ammunition. 
 
 Mohammed Abdel-Salam, a spokesman for the Houthis, told the rebel-controlled Al-Masirah news channel that their forces were not aiming to occupy the south. 
 
 Foreign Minister Riad Yassin told Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV he officially requested the Arab League send a military force to intervene against the Houthis. 
 
 Depicting them as a proxy of Shiite Iran, he warned of an Iranian "takeover" of Yemen. 
 
 On Tuesday, Hadi asked the U.N. Security Council to authorize a military intervention "to protect Yemen and to deter the Houthi aggression" in Aden and the rest of the south. He said he also asked members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League for immediate help. 
 
 Saudi Arabia warned that "if the Houthi coup does not end peacefully, we will take the necessary measures for this crisis to protect the region." Saudi Arabia, which provided Yemen with an economic lifeline, has cut most of its aid after the Houthis' takeover. 
 
 The turmoil threatened a humanitarian disaster according to international aid organizations. In January, Oxfam said that half of Yemen's population is in need of humanitarian aid, and nearly 1 million children are malnourished. 
 
 The Houthis and Saleh's forces also face internal enemies. Shiites make up around 30 percent of the population, mostly in the north. Saleh has never been popular in the south, making it a likely center for resistance. 
 
 Protests were held Tuesday against the Houthis in the city of Taiz after the rebels took over there. The rebels opened fire on the demonstrators, killing at least six. 
 
 In the north, the Houthis have so far been unable to take Marib province, housing Yemen's oil and gas facilities. They face powerful resistance there from Sunni tribesmen, some armed by Saudi Arabia. Other southern provinces such as Abyan and Shabwa are known as al-Qaida strongholds, and the rebels will face stiff resistance from tribes allied with the militant group. 
 
 Last week's suicide bombings against mosques in Sanaa underscored the danger from militants, particularly if the presence of the Islamic State group is established. In Sanaa, dozens of coffins were lined up for a mass funeral Wednesday. 
 
 "In the very short-term, Houthis' next move will determine their next top enemy," said Yemeni writer Samy Ghalib. "If they play politics, their enemies will be the politicians. If they continue the use of force, their foes would be the radical groups including al-Qaida." 
 
 The Saleh-Houthi alliance will likely hold for the time being, he said, adding that international intervention might only strengthen it. 
 
 "The zero-sum game which Houthis and Saleh started is not over yet. ... An international intervention without a political vision, would only spark a civil war," he said. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Michael reported from Cairo.
– Triple suicide bombers hit a pair of mosques crowded with worshippers in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, today, causing heavy casualties, according to witnesses. The attackers targeted mosques frequented by Shiite rebels, who've controlled the capital since September. A report on the rebel-owned al-Masirah TV channel said the bombers attacked the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques during midday prayers, traditionally the most crowded time of the week. Casualty numbers differ, with Reuters reporting at least 16 have been killed; CNN says 25, AP says 46, and AFP claims at least 55 have died, according to medics. The attacks come a day after intense gun battles in the southern city of Aden, between rival troops loyal to Yemen's former and current president, left 13 dead and forced closure of the city's international airport. Witnesses said that at least two suicide bombers attacked inside the Badr mosque. One walked inside the mosque and detonated his device, causing panic as dozens of worshippers rushed toward the outside gates. A second suicide bomber then attacked amid panicked crowds trying to escape. One witness at the al-Hashoosh mosque, located in Sanaa's northern district, said that he was thrown 6 feet by the blast. "The heads, legs, and arms of the dead people were scattered on the floor of the mosque," Mohammed al-Ansi told the AP, adding, "Blood is running like a river." Al-Ansi added that many of those who didn't die in the explosion were seriously injured by shattered glass falling from the mosque's windows. The Shiite TV network aired footage from inside al-Hashoosh mosque, where screaming volunteers used bloodied blankets to carry victims. Among the dead: a small child.