Houthi rocket attack kills 11 soldiers in Yemen

The strikes are the second attack in 10 days hitting pro-government forces

FILE PHOTO: Southern Yemeni separatist security members patrol a street during a campaign to seize unlicensed motorcycles in Aden, Yemen December 10, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo
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Eleven soldiers were killed and eighteen others wounded in a Houthi missile attack on a military base affiliated with the Southern Joint Forces in south-west Yemen on Tuesday.

The attack happened at around 11am local time in the Mureis area that lies north-east of Al Dhalea.

Most of those killed and wounded were new recruits undergoing training, Col Saleh Al Mureisi told The National.

"The missile attack was followed by two Katyusha rockets targeting the paramedics who hurried to the base to take the casualties to the hospitals, but fortunately they fell few metres far from the base," Col Al Mureisi said.

"Some of the injured were taken to Al Naser public hospital in the centre of Al Dhalea city and six [others] were taken to hospital in Aden for their serious injuries."

Capt Fuad Jubari of the Military Axis told The National that the missiles were fired by a Houthi mobile surface-to-surface launcher in the rebel-controlled Al Hasahes area in the northern district of Qatabah, on the border with Ibb province.

This is the second Houthi missile attack in Al Dhalea in the last ten days.

Similar strikes hit Al Somood Square in Al Dhalea city during a military parade for security forces in the province on December 29, killing nine people and wounding 20.

Meanwhile, five Houthi fighters, including a top commander, were killed on Monday night when the Southern Joint Forces repelled an attack on site belonging to an affiliate in the Batar area in northern Al Dhalea province, Capt Jubari said.

The town of Al Dhalea is controlled by Southern Joint Forces and lies on the main road linking the southern port of Aden, which is controlled by the Yemeni government, and the Houthi-controlled capital of Sanaa in the centre of the country.