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New Saudi airstrike kills two civilians in SW Yemen

Wednesday, 18 November 2015 9:43 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 18 November 2015 10:34 AM ]

Smoke rises following a Saudi airstrike on the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a, November 12, 2015. (Photo by AP)

At least two civilians have been killed in a Saudi airstrike against Yemen’s southwestern province of Ta’izz.

On Wednesday, Saudi warplanes pounded a residential area in the al-Sarawi district of the province, situated 260 kilometers (166 miles) south of the capital, Sana’a, leaving two members of a family dead, Arabic-language al-Masirah satellite television network reported.

Meanwhile, a commander of Saudi-backed militants loyal to fugitive former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, has succumbed to injuries he sustained during intense clashes with Yemeni army soldiers backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees in the al-Omari district of Ta’izz Province on Tuesday.

Hashim al-Seyed, who was shot in the head and critically wounded, died in a Saudi hospital on Wednesday. He had reportedly been transferred to the medical facility onboard an Emirati military aircraft.

Saudi-backed militants loyal to fugitive former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, prepare to take their positions on a street during fighting with Houthi Ansarullah fighters in Ta’izz, Yemen, November 16, 2015. (Photo by AP)

There are reports that Seyed’s son and nephew were killed during the Tuesday gunfight in the Omari district.

Separately, two high-ranking members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Salafist Islah Party lost their lives when they engaged in heavy fighting with Yemeni forces in the Beihan district of Yemen’s southern province of Shabwah on Tuesday.

The slain militants were later identified as Sha’fal al-Faraji and Jalal al-Mansouri.

People act in a play in front of the UN building during a protest against Saudi airstrikes against Yemen in the capital, Sana’a, November 8, 2015. (Photo by AP)

Yemen has been witnessing ceaseless military strikes by Saudi Arabia since March 26. The military aggression has supposedly been meant to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and bring Hadi back to power.

The Saudi aggression has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 7,100 people and injured nearly 14,000 others. The strikes have also taken a heavy toll on the impoverished country’s facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories.

Human rights groups and international organizations have voiced deep concern over the rising number of civilian casualties in Yemen, calling for an end to the conflict.

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