Saudi-led coalition launches air strikes in southern Yemen

A Saudi-led coalition bombed Houthi positions in southern Yemen on Wednesday, carrying out at least 12 air strikes, residents said, a day after the alliance announced it would end regular attacks on the Iran-allied group.

Five Raids in Lahj and Dalea provinces killed at least 10 fighters from the Iran-allied Houthi group, the locals said. Fighting between supporters of the Saudi-backed president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Houthis has raged throughout Yemen's south and especially in those two provinces since the air strikes began on March 26.

The coalition announced a halt to its aerial campaign on Tuesday, but said it would continue to act as needed against Houthi rebels who control the capital Sanaa and have been fighting to take over the southern port of Aden.

In other violence, pro-Hadi militia sources said their fighters killed 11 Houthis in an attack on a Houthi convoy in Lahj, in which one of their militiamen also died. Hours earlier, around seven Saudi-led air strikes hit military bases around the central city of Taiz after one of the camps was seized by Houthi fighters amid heavy fighting with the soldiers inside, residents said.

Saudi Arabia said its original operation had achieved its military goals but that a new campaign would still target Houthi movements inside Yemen, casting doubt on whether the bombing might soon give way to Yemeni political talks.

Also Read: Yemen foes fight on despite declared end to Saudi strikes