Saudi-led airstrike kills pro-rebel judge, family

A Saudi-led coalition air strike killed a Yemeni judge and seven members of his family in the capital Sanaa on Monday, residents and security officials said.

The airstrike killed Yehya al-Rubaid, a chief of the criminal court specialized in terrorism cases and also appointed by Shiite Houthi group to prosecute President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his internationally recognized government members over treason cases.

Seven members of his family were also killed on Monday dawn as his two-storey home in Nahda quarter in downtown Sanaa was destroyed.

The Iranian-allied Houthi group along with forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh has forced Saudi-backed President Hadi and his cabinet to exile after they controlled large parts of the north including the capital Sanaa in September 2014.

Hadi and his government have recently returned to the southern port city of Aden under protection of the Saudi-led coalition forces which have retook the city along with three other southern provinces from Houthi fighters in July last year.

The Saudi-led coalition started almost daily air strikes on Houthis and their allied forces' targets in Sanaa and other cities in March 2015, saying the multinational action was to restore President Hadi's rule and force the Houthis to retreat from cities they have seized since September 2014. Endit