Coalition jets hit rebel posts in Yemen capital

Warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition on Wednesday bombed Shiite Huthi rebel positions in Sanaa, stepping up attacks in the wake of a deadly missile strike on its troops, witnesses said.

They said the latest raids targeted arms depots held by the Huthi rebels and renegade troops loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh in southeast Sanaa.

Military bases north of Sanaa, including a munitions factory of the Republican Guard loyal to Saleh, were also targeted, they said.

The pro-government coalition has intensified its air raids against rebel positions since a missile strike killed 60 Gulf soldiers on Friday in Marib, east of Sanaa.

Air raids on Tuesday night also targeted rebels in Sarwah and Jufaineh, in Marib province.

The latest strikes follow the exiled government’s announcement that 10,000 Yemeni fighters are now ready to serve in a “national army being prepared to liberate Sanaa and other provinces”.

Gulf Arab members of the coalition have also reportedly sent thousands of heavily armed reinforcements to Yemen in the wake of Friday’s missile strike.

In March, the coalition launched its air war against the Iran-backed rebels as President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia after they entered his last refuge, Yemen’s second city Aden.

After loyalists recaptured the southern port in July, they launched a ground operation which has seen the rebels pushed back from five southern provinces, although the Huthis still control Sanaa and much of northern and central Yemen.