At least 67 people have been killed in twin suicide blasts across Yemen, one targeting a gathering of rebels in the country’s capital and the other a military outpost in the eastern Hadramout province, officials say.

At least forty-seven people were killed and 75 others wounded in the capital Sanaa on Thursday, when a suicide bomber targeted Houthi supporters preparing to hold a rally, the Yemeni health ministry said.

The attacker reportedly sneaked into a crowd of protesters before igniting the explosives, which included small steel balls and other materials to enhance the brisance.

Witnesses told Al Jazeera’s correspondent in the capital that the attack bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda, although no one had yet to claim responsibility.

In a separate incident, at least 20 government soldiers were killed in a suicide car bombing and gun attack in the eastern Hadramout province, state news agency SABA reported.

SABA said gunmen tried to storm the facility but were beaten back by soldiers.

The blasts come a day after Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, picked to be Yemen’s prime minister as part of a UN-brokered peace deal, turned down the offer. Houthi rebels had rejected his nomination. Al Jazeera