Yemen: Saudi-led coalition warplanes continue attacks on Houthi controlled sites

Saudi Arabia-led coalition warplanes had kept attacking several Houthi rebel-controlled locations in the oil-rich region of Marib, Yemen on Sunday, a military spokesperson informed Xinhua news agency. On condition of anonymity, a local military source said, “The Houthi-held sites in Marib were heavily struck by the Saudi-led coalition warplanes that succeeded in slowing down the rebels' progress toward the strategic city," ANI reported.  

The local military source went on to say that the Houthi militants have partly halted their ground movement due to the heavy aerial bombing which is killing hundreds of them in recent days. As per the source, the Saudi-led coalition had increased the air attacks against the Houthi rebels in an effort to assist the pro-government Yemeni soldiers who are deployed in Marib. 

The official Saudi Press Agency revealed that the Saudi-led coalition informed in a short statement about a battle that was fought in the last three days. In which they mentioned that approximately 264 Houthi rebels have been killed, while 36 of their military vehicles were devastated in Yemen's Marib city war.  According to Yemeni military officials, the majority of the bombings took place in Marib's southern district of Al Jubah, as well as other neighbouring regions where the two warring parties are engaged in nonstop violent clashes. 

Houthi rebels commented on the attack

However, on the contrary, on the Houthi-linked Masirah television network, the Houthi rebels' military spokesperson Yahya Saree rejected the Saudi-led attacks. Quoting the spokesperson, ANI reported, "If the enemy thought their warplanes could stop our troops' progress or break our fighters' resolve, they were mistaken." During military action in Marib, Saree reported that the Houthi rebels killed 550 pro-government troops, injured 1,200 more, and apprehended 90 others. 

Another attack in the Marib region on Houthis

Meanwhile, on October 21, Thursday, according to Xinhua while citing a source at the frontline, 38 Houthi militants were killed in a clash with the Yemeni army in the central province of Marib. In the terrible civil conflict that started almost seven years ago, 130,000 people have died, both military as well as civilians. Although, there were no military losses during the armed conflict which took place on Thursday, while 10 troops were injured. During the seven-hour combat, the Yemeni army was capable of eliminating 38 insurgents. 

The Houthi militia, which is supported by Iran, started a massive onslaught against Marib in February in an attempt to grab command over the province, which is the Saudi-backed Yemeni government's final northern foothold. Yemen was plunged into instability since late 2014 when Iran-backed Houthi militants took control of several northern districts and ousted President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's internationally recognised administration out of the capital Sanaa. The Saudi-led Arab alliance joined in the Yemen crisis later in 2015 to support Hadi's administration. 

(Image: AP)