Skip to main content

Airstrikes shake Yemen capital

Saudi-led coalition vows to press its air war following a Houthi militia missile strike that killed dozens of Gulf soldiers
Smoke billows from Yemeni buildings after reported airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition on arms warehouses at al-Dailami air base, on 6 September 2015, north of the capital Sanaa (AFP)

Powerful explosions shook the Yemeni capital on Sunday, witnesses said, after the Saudi-led coalition vowed to press its air war following a Houthi militia missile strike that killed dozens of Gulf soldiers.

The witnesses said the coalition warplanes pounded positions of the Houthi militia and bases of splinter troops loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The raids hit military bases on the Nahdain and Fajj Attan hills and the neighbouring presidential complex, south of Sanaa, as well as the headquarters of the special forces.

Also targeted were Houthi positions in the northern neighbourhoods of Sufan and al-Nahda, forcing scores of residents to flee to other areas for safety, the witnesses said.

The air attacks came after the missile strike on Friday that hit an arms depot in Marib, east of Sanaa, killed 60 soldiers, including 45 Emiratis, 10 Saudis and five Bahrainis.

The Houthi militia said the attack was "revenge" for six months of deadly air raids, but the coalition vowed there would be no let-up in its air war.

The coalition launched the bombing campaign when President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia in March after the militiamen entered his last refuge, Yemen's second city Aden.

After loyalists recaptured the southern port in July, the coalition launched a ground operation that has seen the militiamen pushed back from five southern provinces. They still control Sanaa and much of the north and centre.

New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch

Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters

Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.