Coalition raid kills 98 Houthi rebels in Sanaa

Dubai - Among those killed were local Houthi leaders Saleh Ahmed Gargash, Abdullah Ahmed Al Madani, Hussein Abdullah Aiyza, and an Iranian identified as Khouri Obaid Aga.

An air strike by the Saudi-led Arab coalition on Sanaa killed 98 Houthi rebels and wounded 45 on Friday, according to Yemeni media sources.
Senior Houthi and Iranian officials were meeting at the house of former general Ali Mohsen Al Ahmer in the Yemeni capital when the air strike happened. The general had served as an adviser to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Preliminary figures revealed that the blitz resulted in the killing of 98 rebels. "Among those killed were local Houthi leaders Saleh Ahmed Gargash, Abdullah Ahmed Al Madani, Hussein Abdullah Aiyza, and an Iranian identified as Khouri Obaid Aga," the sources added.
Meanwhile, heavy fighting between Yemeni pro-government forces and rebels besieging the western city of Taiz killed 71 Houthis in the past two days, Yemeni security officials said on Friday.
Of those killed, 11 were civilians and the rest were fighters from both sides. Another 100 people have been wounded in fighting in the city, where a Saudi-led coalition is carrying out airstrikes against the rebels.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a Friday statement that checkpoints run by rebels affiliated with the Houthis are exacerbating "the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation" in Taiz. They are limiting the movement of civilians and blocking supply routes from the capital Sanaa, the port city of Aden and other parts of Yemen, the UN said.
Civilians and traders are being stopped from transporting essential goods into Taiz, including water, fruit and vegetables, the UN said, adding that the price of water has soared by 300 per cent in the past week. The health system in Taiz is at "near collapse" and small private hospitals "have been overwhelmed with casualties by the fighting," the UN said.
Also on Friday, coalition airstrikes hit a Houthi-held security administration building in the central Ibb province, killing at least seven rebels and destroying weapon supplies, security officials there said. In Bayda province, six Houthis were killed in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition that hit a rebel camp, according to security officials and witnesses who declined to be named.
Yemen's fighting pits the Houthis and allied army units against forces loyal to the internationally recognised government as well as southern separatists and other militants. The UN says at least 2,577 civilians were killed since the Saudi-led air campaign began in March, while 5,078 have been injured.
With inputs from AP malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com

• MENA