Saudi-led airstrikes across Yemen kill dozens

Dozens of people were killed in Saudi-led airstrikes against the Shiite Houthi group in Yemen's southern provinces Monday, security sources said.

The Saudi-led coalition escalated airstrikes Monday morning, targeting Houthi militia stationed both inside military bases and those mobile, killing and injuring dozens.

Saudi-led warplanes struck six Houthi trucks loaded with missiles, ammunition and militants in Al-Ammar village in the northern Saada province, the primary stronghold of the Shiite Houthi group, as they attempted to approach Saudi-Yemeni borders, according to local Yemeni officials.

In the capital Sanaa, an army source said that the Saudi-led airstrikes hit a number of Houthi-manned military sites in Khawlan, east of Sanaa, adding that pro-Houthi forces and gunmen were heavily deployed in the streets with several checkpoints.

In the south, the Saudi-led coalition launched a series of airstrikes on Houthi-controlled sites and mobile convoys in the provinces of Aden, Lahj, Abyan, al-Dhalea and Shabwa.

The Saudi-led coalition foiled an attack by the Houthis on the outskirts of Aden, pounding three armored trucks and two small vehicles carrying gunmen and reinforcements attempting to enter Aden, a security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The airstrikes destroyed all the trucks and killed 26 Houthi gunmen, the source said.

Meanwhile, scores of tribal militia allied with Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi attacked Houthi-controlled sites in Aden's district of khorMaksar near the international airport, successfully regaining control of two government institutions and the surrounding area, the source said.

So far, 12 Houthi gunmen were killed in battles in the khorMaksar district of Aden as pro-Hadi militia fought to reclaim the whole area seized by Houthis six weeks ago, the source added.

Aden's deputy governor told Xinhua by phone that anti-Houthi fighters and high-ranking military commanders loyal to Hadi plan to announce the formation of a unified command unit or an Aden-based military council.

Houthi gunmen backed by army units attacked Yemen's third largest city of Taiz from several directions but were met with fierce resistance from Sunni tribesmen Monday, a military official said.

Monday's battles in Yemen's Taiz damaged several houses as the two warring rivals exchanged mortar rounds and tank shells inside the neighborhood.

About six Houthi gunmen and six pro-Hadi militia personnel were killed during Monday's battles, a military official based in Taiz confirmed to Xinhua.

Yemen's southern provinces witnessed drastic escalation of violence since March when deadly armed clashes erupted between Houthi gunmen and tribal militia linked to President Hadi, currently based in Saudi Arabia after fleeing his presidential palace in Aden last month.

Deadly fighting persists over control of the main port city of Aden and five other southern provinces amid dire shortages of basic needs such as food, drinking water, medicine and fuel supplies. Endit