15 civilians killed in Saudi strikes against Yemen

More than a dozen civilians have lost their lives in a string of new Saudi airstrikes against various areas across Yemen.

Saudi warplanes on Friday struck a residential neighborhood in the al-Kitaf district of Sa’ada some 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Sana’a, leaving 15 people dead, the al-Masirah satellite television reported.

Two people were injured when Saudi military aircraft dropped cluster bombs on the Maran district of the same arid and mountainous province.

Meanwhile, militiamen loyal to fugitive former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi have reportedly wrested control over the Harad district of Yemen’s northwestern province of Hajjah.

The militiamen, who were trained and equipped in Saudi Arabia, crossed the border from the kingdom on Friday following fierce clashes with Yemeni army and allied forces and attacked the district.

Saudi warplanes also carried out four aerial assaults against the Baqim district in Sa’ada Province, but there were no immediate reports of casualties and the extent of damage. Additionally, Saudi jets fired a number of missiles into the Zahir district of the northwestern Yemeni province, with no reports of possible casualties.

Separately, Yemeni army soldiers backed by allied fighters from Popular Committees fired a Qaher-1 (Conqueror-1) ballistic missile at a military base in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern border region of Najran.

Yemeni forces also launched an OTR-21 Tochka ballistic missile at the Tadawil camp, housing Saudi-led military forces, in Yemen’s central province of Ma’rib.  

Also on Friday, two Saudi soldiers were killed when Yemeni army soldiers and fighters from Popular Committees launched an operation in the Harad district. An M1 Abrams battle tank was also destroyed in the process.

Elsewhere in Yemen’s southwestern province of Ta’izz, Yemeni forces killed four members of the US Blackwater Worldwide security services company. The slain mercenaries were reportedly of Italian, South African, Rwandan and Pakistani nationalities.

Yemen has been under military attack by Saudi Arabia since late March. The Saudi military strikes were launched to supposedly undermine the Ansarullah movement and bring Hadi back to power.

More than 7,500 people have been killed and over 14,000 others injured since March. The strikes have also taken a heavy toll on the impoverished country’s facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories.

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