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Saudi airstrike leaves 15 allied militiamen dead in NW Yemen

Friday, 08 July 2016 3:14 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 08 July 2016 6:20 PM ]

Saudi-sponsored militiamen loyal to resigned Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi sit next to ammunition as they hold a position during clashes with fighters from the Houthi Ansarullah movement and their allies in the Sirwah district of Yemen’s central province of Ma’rib on February 29, 2016. ©AFP

Saudi military aircraft have reportedly targeted Riyadh-sponsored militiamen loyal to resigned Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in Yemen’s northwestern province of Hajjah, killing more than a dozen of the mercenaries.

Informed sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Friday that the Saudi warplanes struck a gathering of the gunmen close to the al-Muwassim military camp and in the Midi district of the province, located approximately 130 kilometers (80 miles) northwest of the capital Sana'a, killing 15 mercenaries and injuring scores of others, Arabic-language al-Masirah satellite television network reported.

The development came shortly after at least five people, including women and children, lost their lives and a dozen others sustained injuries when Saudi warplanes struck a vehicle travelling along a road in the Harib al-Qaramish district of Yemen’s central province of Ma’rib.

Unnamed security sources said the injured were shifted to nearby hospitals to receive medical treatment.

Earlier on Friday, fighters from the Houthi Ansarullah movement and allied forces fired a number of rockets at a gathering of Saudi-sponsored militiamen in the same Yemeni province, killing dozens of the mercenaries.

*Members of a Yemeni family stand outside their house, which was damaged several months ago in a Saudi airstrike, at a slum in the capital Sana’a, on March 12, 2016. ©AFP*

Separately, Saudi forces fired several artillery rounds at an outdoor market in the al-Matun district of the northern Yemeni province of Jawf, leaving four civilians injured.

Saudi military aircraft also mounted several air raids against the Harad district of Hajjah province and Maran district in the mountainous northwestern province of Sa'ada, though there were no immediate reports of casualties and the scale of damage.

Saudi Arabia launched its military aggression against Yemen on March 26, 2015 in a bid to reinstate Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh, and defeat the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

More than 9,400 people have been killed and at least 16,000 others injured since the onset of the aggression.

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