115 rebels killed in Saudi-led airstrikes in central Yemen

SANAA, Yemen

At least 115 Houthi rebels were killed in Saudi-led airstrikes in central Yemen over the past 24 hours, the Saudi-led coalition announced on Tuesday.

In a statement published by the Saudi official news agency SPA, the coalition said it carried out 26 operations targeting vehicles and Houthi elements in the Al-Jubah and Al-Kasarah areas of Marib province.

"The operations destroyed 14 armed vehicles and killed 115 terrorists," the coalition said.

For his part, rebel spokesman Yahya Saree said the military operation it carried out on the districts of Al-Jubah and Jabal Murad resulted in the death and injury of 750 enemy "mercenaries."

"Our forces (Houthis) liberated at least 100 square kilometers (38.6 sq. miles) -- all districts except Al-Wadi and the city center," he said in a press conference in the capital Sanaa.

"We fired 47 missiles targeting the enemy, including 31 in Yemen and 16 in Saudi Arabia," Saree said, adding that Houthi drones carried out 141 operations, with 128 in Yemen and 13 in "the Saudi territories."

There was no comment from the Saudi side over the Houthi statements.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises with 233,000 people killed, nearly 80% or about 30 million needing humanitarian assistance and protection, and more than 13 million in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates.

*Writing by Bassel Barakat