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20 Houthi fighters killed in Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen

Xinhua, April 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

At least 20 Shiite Houthi fighters were killed and dozens of others wounded in Saudi-led airstrikes on a military base in Yemen's northern province of Amran, military officials and medics said.

"Saudi-led warplanes pounded 310th armored camp for over seven times during morning and afternoon, bombing weapons shipping containers and tanks, during which many Houthi fighters were killed," a retired military officer who lives next to the camp told Xinhua by phone on condition of anonymity.

He said the airstrikes also hit Houthi camps in Bait al-Gohoum and Ghulat Ajeep villages on the northern outskirts of Amran city, the provincial capital of Amran province.

A medic in Amran city, 50 km north of the capital Sanaa, told Xinhua that 20 Houthi bodies were brought to Amran hospital in the afternoon and more than 27 others were receiving treatment.

After the sunset, several warplanes flew above Sanaa from the north and west that could be seen by residents, and bombed weapon depots of al-Subaha military base, the nearby missiles launch-pad camp and the adjacent Special Security camp on Aser and Attan mountains in southwestern Sanaa.

Smoke could be seen rising from the bases and the Houthi fighters fired anti-aircraft artillery that lighted up the sky.

On Wednesday, the fighter jets hit Shiite Houthi area in Sanaa, destroying two buildings used for storing arms and hosting fighters and killing three people while 27 others wounded, according to the Yemeni interior ministry.

Traffic in Sanaa is almost empty due to severe fuel shortage, as no flights or ships could bring supplies to Yemen that is besieged by the coalition forces for more than two weeks. In many districts in Sanaa, residents have no access to electricity and water.

The Saudi-led forces started to launch airstrikes in Yemen on March 26. However, Houthi militia tightened grip on northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, advanced to the southern provinces, including Aden, the main base of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that at least 560 people, including dozens of children, were killed and 1,768 others wounded, while over 10,000 residents fled major cities since the Shiite Houthi fighters and their allies advanced into Aden on March 19 and the start of the air campaign led by Saudi Arabia in support of Hadi on March 26. Enditem