Yemen: Over 80 killed in missile attack, bloodiest since beginning of war
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A source said that 83 soldiers are killed and 148 injured in the attack.
Over 80 Yemeni soldiers were killed and several wounded in missile and drone attack blamed on Huthi rebels in central Yemen, sources said on Sunday.
A mosque in a military camp was attacked by the Huthis in the central province of Marib, during evening prayers, military sources said.
A medical source at a Marib city hospital, where casualties were admitted, informed that 83 soldiers are killed and 148 injured in the attack.
Saudi state TV said that 60 people are killed in the attack.
Death toll figures are mostly disputed, but the huge toll from this strike means that it is one of the bloodiest attacks since the beginning of the war in 2014 when Sanaa was captured by rebels.
The attack came a day after the coalition-backed government forces initiated a large-scale operation against the Huthis in the Nihm region, north of Sanaa.
Another military source informed that fighting in Nihm is ongoing on Sunday.
"Dozens from the (Huthi) militia were killed and injured," the source said.
Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi condemned the mosque attack.
"The disgraceful actions of the Huthi militia without a doubt confirm its unwillingness to (achieve) peace, because it knows nothing but death and destruction and is a cheap Iranian tool in the region," official Saba news agency quoted Hadi as saying.
The drone and missile attack comes after months of relative peace in the war between Iran-backed Huthis and Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi and its military allies.
Recently, United Nations envoy Martin Griffiths also welcomed a significant reduction in airstrikes and the movement of ground troops.
Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and millions displaced in the war in Yemen, which the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
An UN-brokered agreement signed between the warring sides in December 2018 is seen as a hope to reduce the crisis in Yemen but the slow implementation means that the intense conflict continues.
(With inputs from AFP and Reuters)
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