Houthi leader among those killed in Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen

World Today

Houthi officials in Yemen said their political leader is dead–killed in an air strike by a Saudi-led coalition.

They said a separate strike killed at least 20 people, including a bride, at a wedding party.

It’s part of a civil war that has now claimed some 10,000 lives.

CGTN’s Guy Henderson reports.

A television channel controlled by Yemen’s Houthi rebels is reporting that the man they regard as their president, Saleh Ali Al Sammad, was killed in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike last Thursday in Hoddeydah province.

There are also multiple reports, citing health officials and eyewitnesses in the Yemeni province of Hajja, of an airstrike hitting a wedding party and killing at least 20 people including the bride with children among the injured.

As of 10pm local time Monday, there had been no comment from a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition on these reports. That’s despite the official Saudi press agency releasing several other Yemen-related statements.

One thing the Saudi military have confirmed is that their missile defence systems shot down ballistic missiles over the port city of Jizan earlier on Monday, which the Houthis claimed were targeting Saudi oil facilities.