Strikes hit the village of al-Shariya north of Sanaa on Saturday, killing at least 22 people, according to health officials aligned with the Houthis, who blamed Saudi Arabia for the attack.1,3
The officials said about 30 other people were wounded, most of the casualties were women and children, in an attack that struck several homes. The toll could not be independently verified, and Saudi Arabia and Yemen's government had not commented on the claim, as fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed forces continued.1,3
Health ministry spokesman Anees al-Asbahi said the strikes hit several homes in al-Shariya, in Sanaa province. The Houthi-linked Al-Masirah broadcaster showed purported footage of piles of debris and wounded people in a hospital. Al-Asbahi said Saudi Arabia had carried out the strikes.1,3
Accounts differed on the death toll. DW put the figure at at least 22 killed and at least 30 wounded, citing the Houthi Health Ministry. The Washington Times and the New York Post said 25 people were killed, citing a Houthi official. The Houthi-run Saba news agency, as cited by Al Jazeera, put the figure at at least 27 killed and about 30 wounded.1,2,3,4
The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, Arabic for Supporters of God, blamed the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's government forces. Field Marshal Mahdi al-Mashat, president of the group's Supreme Political Council, vowed to "avenge" the attack. Al-Asbahi said most of the casualties were women and children.3
Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government had not commented on the reported strikes in Sanaa province. Early on Saturday, Col. Turki al-Malki, spokesman for the Saudi-backed coalition supporting Yemen's government forces, said the coalition had shot down a Houthi ballistic missile over the Riyadh region.1,3
Separately on Saturday, Yemeni government forces said troops backed by warplanes and drones had fought for hours to halt Houthi advances in Marib province, destroying fortifications and combat equipment. They said troops were also pushing into Houthi-held areas of al-Jawf province, where fighting entered a third consecutive day as part of the "Dawn of Yemen" operation launched more than a month ago by the internationally recognized government to take territory from Houthi fighters.3
Government forces spokesman Col. Majed al-Nazili said the army had carried out 875 attacks on Houthi positions on Saturday, neutralising about 130 Houthi commanders and fighters and destroying or disabling 50 vehicles and missile launchers. Al Jazeera said it could not independently verify the claims.3
The Houthis separately claimed to have launched six attacks on Saudi targets using ballistic and cruise missiles and drones, but did not say when the attacks were carried out. The group said it had targeted King Khalid international airport and oil facilities in Riyadh, an oil site in Khurais, an oil pumping station in Dawadmi, a National Guard camp in Najran and what it described as Saudi troop gatherings in Yemen's al-Jawf and Marib provinces.3
The incident came a day after the Houthis and Yemen's government traded blame over a separate attack that killed civilians at a market in Taiz. Reporting from Sanaa, Al Jazeera's Yousef Mawry said the Houthis put the civilian death toll from the past two days at 55, blaming Saudi airstrikes, while Yemeni government officials have held the Houthis responsible for most of the casualties. "Two narratives are blaming each other and pointing the finger at each other, while this is taking a toll on civilian casualties," Mawry said.3
The Houthis have controlled Sanaa and large parts of western and northern Yemen since the country's civil war began in 2014, while Saudi Arabia backs Yemen's Aden-based internationally recognized government. A yearslong truce fell apart over the summer, and the Houthis pushed forward in September, taking more territory along the Red Sea coast, including the port city of Mokha and strategic islands. Coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia have carried out numerous airstrikes on Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled areas.1
Neither side's account of Saturday's fighting could be independently verified, and no comment from Riyadh or the Yemeni government on the Sanaa province strikes had been reported.1,3
