WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House cannot confirm a claim by Islamic State that suicide bombers who attacked two mosques in Yemen were affiliated with the militant group, a spokesman said on Friday.
"There is not, at this point, clear evidence of an operational link between these extremists in Yemen and ISIL fighters in Iraq and Syria," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, using a different acronym for Islamic State.
Earnest condemned the attacks in Sanaa, which killed 126 people and wounded 260, and noted that claims of responsibility are sometimes made to advance propaganda efforts.
He said the United States was trying to find out whether there were "command-and-control structures in place" to show any involvement by Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot that has seized large areas of Iraq and Syria. The group claimed responsibility for the attacks, in which four bombers wearing explosive belts targeted worshippers in and outside the crowded mosques.
The White House spokesman said the attackers had tried to "capitalize on the chaos and instability inside of Yemen to carry out these acts of violence."
Yemen has been in turmoil after a power struggle between President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Shi'ite Muslim Houthi group, which controls Sanaa and is allied with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
On Friday, the State Department called for an end to violence.
"We call upon all actors within Yemen to halt all unilateral and offensive military actions, and we specifically call on the Houthis, former President Saleh and their allies to stop their violent incitement and undermining President Hadi, who is Yemen's legitimate president," said Jeff Rathke, a State Department spokesman.
(Reporting by Julia Edwards, Susan Heavey and Lisa Lambert; Editing by Eric Beech and Grant McCool)
À , la capitale du , deux mosquées ont été attaquées par des , tuant plus de 100 personnes, et en blessant au moins 250.

C'est le mouvement rebel  qui a le contrôle de Sanaa sous l'appui de l'ancien président . Le président élu,  a déménagé à , dans le sud du pays.

Le groupe terroriste  a revendiqué l'attaque sur leur compte Twitter. L'organisation a mis en place une base au Yémen en novembre dernier, mais ce serait leur première attaque dans le pays. Le porte-parole de la Maison Blanche, , a déclaré que la revendication des attaques ne peut être confirmée, soulevant la possibilité qu'elle ne soient utilisée que pour de la propagande.

, un politicien Houthi, a accusé  d'être responsable de l'attaque, mais celui-ci a nié toute responsabilité, en soulignant la directive de ses dirigeants de ne pas attaquer les mosquées ou les marchés. Les partisans de Saleh ont également été accusés par un conseiller politique yéménite, , qui a qualifié les attaques de , le  étant la branche de l' soutenue par les Houthis.

Le , , a condamné les attaques et a appelé à la fin des hostilités et à faire preuve de retenue.