Yemeni official: Rebel missiles hit key city, killing 3

Cairo: A Yemeni government official said Tuesday that Houthi rebels fired two missiles in a government-held city killing at least three people, including a child.

The missiles landed in the Rawdha neighbourhood in the central city of Marib, according to Ali al-Ghulisi, the provincial governor’s press secretary.

At least 10 other people, including two children, were wounded in the attack, al-Ghulisi said.

A Houthi spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014, when the Iranian-backed Houthis swept across much of the north and seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognised government into exile. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war the following year on the side of the government. The war has killed more than 130,000 people and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Tuesday’s missiles landed in the same neighbourhood where a Houthi missile and explosive-laden drone attack hit a gas station earlier this month, killing at least 21 people, including a father and his 2-year-old daughter.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been attempting since February to capture Marib from the internationally recognised government, which would complete their control over the northern part of Yemen.

However, they have not made substantial progress and have suffered heavy losses amid stiff resistance from government forces aided by the Saudi-led coalition supporting them.

The Houthis have fired ballistic missiles and sent drones into Marib, often hitting civilian areas and camps for displaced people. More than 120 civilians have been killed, including 15 children, and more than 220 wounded in Marib in the past six months, according to the government.