10 Houthis killed in Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen's Marib

Sanaa, Aug 22 (IANS) Ten Houthi rebels were killed by Saudi-led Arab coalition airstrikes in Yemen's central province of Marib, a government military source said."The 10, including three high-ranking leaders, were hit while driving in two vehicles in Sirwah district, a few miles east of Al-Kasarah frontline," the source in Marib told Xinhua news agency on Saturday.Meanwhile, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported seven coalition airstrikes on Sirwah.The Houthis began in February a major offensive on Marib in an attempt to seize control of the oil-rich province, the government's last northern stronghold.Yemen's civil war flared up in late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of much of the country's north and forced the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.The Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government.
--IANS ksk/