Houthis say fired missile at Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, killing 146

Yemen's Houthi rebels said they fired a missile on Monday on a headquarters of a Saudi-led coalition, killing at least 146 soldiers, including two senior army commanders, in an escalation just one day before the start of scheduled peace talks in Switzerland.

In a statement posted online, the group said the missile hit the coalition headquarters at Shib al-Jinn area in Bab al-Mandab southwest of Yemen, killing two commanders, one from Saudi Arabia and the other from the United Arab Emirates.

There has been no independent confirmation of and immediate response to the Houthi claim, though the Saudi-led coalition said in a statement Monday that Abdullah al-Sahyan, a Saudi colonel, and Sultan al-Kitbi, a Emirati officer, were killed at dawn Monday in southwest Yemen.

Three Apache helicopters were also destroyed in the attack, said the Houthi rebel group, which has been fighting the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The Saudi-led coalition of nine countries has been conducting military operations against the Houthis since late March in an effort to restore Hadi's authority.

Representatives from the Hadi government and the Houthi rebel group are expected to attend United Nations-sponsored peace talks on Yemen scheduled to start on Tuesday in Switzerland.

The warring sides are expected to declare a week-long interim ceasefire ahead of the talks. Endit