Saudi-led coalition mistakenly kills 15 pro-gov't fighters in Yemen

About 15 pro-government fighters were killed on Friday when Saudi-led warplanes shelled their military positions by mistake in Yemen's oil-rich province of Marib, a military official told Xinhua.

"A convoy of armed tribesmen fighting alongside with the Saudi-backed government forces was hit by air raids by mistake in Harib region of Marib province, killing about 15 people and injuring 10 others," the local military official said on condition of anonymity.

"The incident occurred after scores of tribal fighters moved into the battlefield to fight Houthi gunmen, but a friendly fire targeted their cars mistakenly while traveling on a desert road," the military source said.

Fierce fighting continued between Houthi gunmen and Saudi-backed government forces on Friday in different areas in Marib, Yemen's most important oil-producing province, some 170 km northeast of the capital Sanaa.

Soldiers of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar supported by apaches and armored vehicles were engaged in battles against Houthis in Marib for the fifth day, according to local sources.

Massive explosions rocked Sanaa on Friday morning following air bombings on Houthi-controlled military sites across the city.

"We are besieged inside our house due to the non-stop Saudi-led air strikes," Ali Asahi, a Sanaa-based resident told Xinhua by phone.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been engulfed in the war between the Shiite Houthi group supported by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Saudi-backed government forces.

In late March, the Saudi-led coalition began airstrikes against the Houthi group in Yemen at the request of exiled Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The campaign aims to prevent the Houthis from seizing power in Yemen, as Saudi Arabia claimed the Shiite group is backed by Iran. Endit