Saudi-Led Coalition Strikes Yemeni MoD After Houthis’ Attack - Reports

According to AFP, citing Houthi media outlet Al-Masirah, the Saudi-led coalition has carried out two airstrikes on the militant’s defense ministry in Sanaa, Yemen’s largest city. Local witnesses said that at least 10 people have been injured and several buildings were severely damaged in the vicinity of the compound housing the Houthi military headquarters.

The alleged air strike comes almost a week after Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile launched by the Houthis, prompting the Saudi-led coalition to call the attack an "act of war" and hold Tehran responsible for arming the Yemeni rebels, a claim repeatedly denied by the Islamic Republic.

 

The Saudi-led coalition that has been conducting an operation in Yemen since 2015 announced on Monday that it had closed off access to all of the country's land, air and sea ports after the Houthis launched a missile targeting Riyadh, explaining the move as a measure to prevent the rebels from obtaining additional weapons.

Earlier, the Houthi movement backed by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh has responded with a threat to target Saudi and UAE "airports, ports, border crossings and areas of any importance."

Yemen has been engulfed in a violent conflict between the government and Houthi rebels backed by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh since 2015, with a coalition backed by Saudi Arabia launching an aerial operation in the country at the request of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

The United Nations estimates at least 10,000 civilians have been killed in the air strikes over the past two years.