Yemen's Houthi rebel group says it fired 2 missiles against Saudi cities
Xinhua, August 10, 2016 Adjust font size:
Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebel group said it fired two ballistic missiles against military targets in Saudi border cities Wednesday, according to the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency.
One missile struck an air defense base in Saudi Arabia's Khamis Mushait city, whereas the second destroyed a military camp in Abha city, Saba said.
The attack comes only two days after the Saudi-led military coalition supporting the Yemeni exiled government stepped up its air campaign against Houthi rebels, following the collapse over the weekend of United Nations-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait between the warring factions.
Houthi rebels said that Saudi warplanes launched over 50 sorties Wednesday targeting the Nehem district, northeast of the capital city of Sanaa.
On Tuesday, coalition airstrikes killed 15 employees of a food factory in Sanaa.
The Riyadh-based coalition spokesman, Ahmed Aseeri, said that air operations supporting Yemeni government troops advanced into the district of Nehem, in preparation for advancing into Sanaa next.
Houthi rebels and allied forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh have controlled Sanaa since 2014, after forcing the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 to help restore the internationally recognized Hadi government.
Coalition airstrikes and fighting on the ground have since left more than 6,400 people dead, the majority of which were civilians. Endit