Airstrikes kill 27 near Yemen capital
Saudi Arabia is blamed for the attack on al-Shariya, a strike that follows a deadly market bombing in the south.
By Renata Mehta ·
At least 27 people were killed and 36 others wounded in airstrikes on the village of al-Shariya near Sanaa, Yemen's capital. A spokesman for the Houthi-run health ministry said most of the injured were women and children. Anees Alasbahi, the health ministry spokesman, told The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia was responsible for the strikes.
The attack occurred as the civil war intensified following the collapse of a truce earlier this summer. The Iranian-backed Houthis control Sanaa, the north, and the west of the country. Their opponents, who are backed by Saudi Arabia, operate from the south and east. The resumption of open fighting has raised fears that the decade-long conflict will produce another major humanitarian disaster.
The violence in the north came one day after a separate airstrike hit a market in southern Yemen. Houthi officials said that attack killed at least 30 people. Both the Houthis and the Saudi-backed military blamed the other for the market strike. This exchange of fire marks a sharp increase in hostilities since July, when the wider Middle East conflict reignited the war.
Saudi Arabia has faced worsening attacks from the Houthis since the conflict flared up. Riyadh has sought defensive and offensive support from various allies. Reuters reported on Friday, citing two Syrian military sources and a senior US official, that Syria sent a limited number of military personnel to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks. These troops are providing military advice and training. A Syrian diplomatic source told the state news agency SANA that Syria has no plans to send troops to Yemen, though cooperation with Riyadh could expand.
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a drone in the Riyadh region on Friday. On Saturday morning, Saudi civil defence issued an alert for potential danger in Jizan on the southwest coast. Another alert went out around midday for the nearby city of Najran. These alerts indicate the conflict is reaching key population centers in the kingdom.
The Iranian military announced on Saturday that a tanker east of the Strait of Hormuz hit a naval mine and caught fire. The vessel had switched off its navigational beacon and was sailing in a prohibited area. Iran did not identify the tanker's nationality or destination.
President Donald Trump discussed the situation with reporters after Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress. He struck a positive tone regarding the conflict with Iran. "We are doing very well with Iran. We're talking to Iran," Trump said. He added that the US has not lost a soldier in six or seven months and that Iran is doing more business with oil than ever before.
