Rebel attack kills, injures 39 civilians in Yemen
Al Houthis suffer heavy casualties, military losses in Marib fight
Cairo: Thirty-nine people were killed or injured in a missile attack by the Iran-aligned Al Houthi rebels in Yemen, the official news agency Saba reported Friday.
The attack Wednesday night targeted the district of Al Matar (airport) in Yemen’s northern governorate of Marib.
The casualties included five children and a woman, Saba added, citing medical sources in the governorate. The exact death toll was not given.
Last year, Al Houthis initiated a massive offensive on Marib in a desperate attempt to capture the energy-rich governorate. They have since suffered heavy casualties.
The pro-government Southern Giants Brigades said Friday they had seized a large cache of military hardware in the battles to liberate the Harib district in Marib. The Brigades’ Media Centre added that hundreds of Al Houthi militiamen were killed and injured in the fighting.
Al Houthis have plunged Yemen into a devastating war after they unseated the internationally recognised government and seized some parts of the impoverished country including the capital Sana’a in late 2014.
In March 2015, Saudi Arabia led a military campaign in Yemen in response to a request from the government there.