9 killed in Saudi-led air strike in Yemen: residents

9 killed in Saudi-led air strike in Yemen: residents
Wed Jan 24, 2018 10:16:59

At least nine civilians, including four children, were killed in a Saudi-led coalition air strike in northern Yemen on Tuesday, residents and medics said, bringing to 30 the number of people killed in military operations in the country in two days.

(Reuters) -- Residents said an aircraft struck a vehicle traveling in the Aal Ali region of Razeh district in western Saada province, an area of confrontation between government forces loyal to Hadi and the Houthis.

Apart from those killed, three people were wounded, including two who were being treated at a local hospital, medics said.

“We take this report very seriously and it will be fully investigated as all reports of this nature are,” a spokesman for the coalition said. “Whilst this is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

On Monday, coalition air strikes destroyed a building near the Saada provincial capital that housed a small clinic, killing seven people, including five children, while two more people died in a separate attack, also near Saada city.

The Western-backed coalition has come under criticism from the United Nations and international rights groups over repeated air strikes that hit civilians.

The coalition says it directs strikes only at military targets.

(Photo: Yemeni men stand on the debris of a house, hit in an air strike on a residential district, in the capital Sanaa on August 26, 2017. AFP, Getty)

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