In Yemen, a struggle to claim mantle of Sunnis' champion

(The Christian Science Monitor) As the so-called Islamic State attempts to gain attention and support in Yemen with deadly sectarian attacks, it faces a series of obstacles that could prevent it from replicating its success in Iraq and Syria.

After directing a series of bombings, IS recorded its boldest attack last Thursday: Suicide bombers struck a Shi'ite mosque in Sanaa, the capital, during Eid prayers, one of the largest gatherings of prayer-goers on the Islamic calendar.

The attack, which claimed 30 lives, was not IS’s largest in Yemen. A series of bombings across the country on March 20 that targeted Shi'ite Houthis killed more than 130. It also has been eclipsed by an errant Saudi airstrike Monday on a wedding party in central Taiz province that reportedly killed 131 people, the deadliest single attack of the war.