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Saudi coalition airstrikes hit wedding ceremony in Yemen, dozens killed

Xinhua, September 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

Fighter jets of the Saudi-led Arab coalition mistakenly struck a wedding ceremony in Yemen's southern province of Taiz on Monday, killing more than 35 people and injuring dozens of others, a tribal chief told Xinhua.

Multiple airstrikes pounded a wedding ceremony that was organized inside two large celebration halls in Wahga village in Mocha city, Taiz province, killing about 35 people and injuring dozens of others, mostly women and children, the local tribal source said on condition of anonymity.

A local resident confirmed to Xinhua in a phone call that "the number of people who were killed and injured reached to 75 due to the brutal Saudi-led airstrikes on a wedding part in Mocha."

"Two wedding halls, one for women and the other for men, were completely destroyed by missiles. Bodies now were scattered in the area," the local resident added.

The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reported that "military aircrafts of the Saudi aggression killed more than 100 people during aerial bombardment on a wedding celebration in Mocha city."

Monday's incident came just one day after helicopters of the Saudi-led coalition shelled several houses in Yemen's northwestern province of Hajjeh, killing about 28 civilians and injuring 17 others.

Houthi-affiliated websites said helicopters attacked the civilian houses and chased them when they fled their homes and fired at them in the village of Bani Zelaa.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-backed government forces launched attacks against Houthis and their allies early Monday in the oil-rich province of Marib.

An army officer told Xinhua that "Houthi gunmen withdrew from a number of key positions in Marib because of the massive military operation and Saudi-led airstrikes. All the surroundings areas of Marib's historical dam are in hands of pro-government fighters."

After receiving training in Saudi Arabia, about 1,150 Yemeni fighters arrived Saturday at a military base in order to participate in the ongoing fighting against Houthi militia.

The coalition has been air striking on a daily basis the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi group across Yemen since March 26, when Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fled to the Saudi capital of Riyadh to take refuge.

The coalition said its intervention aims to restore Hadi's authority in the country.

The Shiite Houthi group seized half of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa last September, and ousted Hadi and his government. Endit