Clashes between rebels and Yemeni troops have resumed in the wake of a devastating bomb attack outside mosque that killed 18 worshippers, a government official said Saturday. Three soldiers and four rebels died in the overnight skirmishes which took place in the remote mountain province of Saada, where a rebellion by a small Shiite sect has been raging for the last four years. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press, added that a committee of government officials was looking to restart mediation efforts with the rebels of the Shiite al-Zaydi sect. Meanwhile, families on Saturday buried their dead from the blast which also wounded dozens. The bomb rigged to motorcycle blew up amid a crowd of worshippers leaving Friday prayers at a mosque in a rebel stronghold of northern Yemen.
