Six civilians killed in Saudi strike on SW Yemen

At least six civilians have lost their lives when Saudi fighter jets carried out an airstrike in Yemen’s southwestern province of Ta’izz as the Riyadh regime continues with its atrocious aerial bombardment campaign against its impoverished southern neighbor.

Local sources told Arabic-language al-Masirah television network that the aerial attack had targeted a vehicle as it was travelling along a road in the Maqbanah district of the province on Saturday afternoon.

Later in the day, Saudi military aircraft launched four air raids against Yakhtal area of the Red Sea port city of Mukha, situated 346 kilometers south of the capital, Sana’a. There were no reports about possible casualties and the extent of damage caused.

Saudi warplanes also struck the mountainous Jabal al-Omari area in the Dhubab district of the same Yemeni province, but no fatalities were reported.

Separately, Saudi aircraft dropped internationally-banned cluster bombs on an area in the al-Khawkhah district of the coastal western province of Hudaydah.

Meanwhile, Yemeni army soldiers and fighters from allied Popular Committees launched a string of attacks in retaliation for the Saudi airstrikes.

Yemeni snipers fatally shot a Saudi trooper at al-Farizah military base in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern border region of Jizan.

Yemeni forces also fired a domestically-developed Borkan-2 (Volcano-2) ballistic missile at King Salman Air Base in Riyadh. No immediate reports of casualties were available though.

Furthermore, Yemeni forces and their allies fired a salvo of artillery rounds at al-Sadis and Nahouqah military camps in Saudi Arabia’s southern border region of Najran, with no casualties reported.

According to the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, the Saudi military campaign has claimed the lives of 10,000 Yemenis and left 40,000 others wounded.

McGoldrick told reporters in Sana’a earlier this year that the figure was based on casualty counts given by health facilities and that the actual number might be higher.

Local Yemeni sources have already put the death toll from the Saudi war at over 12,000, including many women and children.