Saudi airstrikes kill 9 civilians in Yemen's Ma'rib province

Yemenis stand on the rubble of houses destroyed in a Saudi airstrike in the capital Sana'a, June 9, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

At least nine civilians, including two women, have been killed and a number of others wounded in Saudi Arabia's airstrikes on residential buildings in Yemen's central province of Ma'rib.

According to Yemen's Arabic-language al-Masirah television network, the aerial aggression occurred on Sunday, when Saudi warplanes bombed homes in Ale-Massad neighborhood in Sirwah district. Earlier in the day, Saudi jets had bombed Sirwah eight more times.

The airstrikes and the killing of Yemeni civilians took place as Yemenis were celebrating Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The Saudi warplanes also carried out airstrikes on Yakhtal area of the Red Sea port city of Mukha in the southwestern province of Ta'izz, and al-Masahef and al-Sabhan areas in Baqim district in the northwestern province of Sa'ada. Possible casualties and damage of the strikes were not reported.

In retaliation for the relentless and indiscriminate Saudi airstrikes against the Yemeni people, Yemen's army, backed by Houthi Ansarullah fighters, on Sunday launched an artillery attack against Saudi military bases of al-Khashal, al-Shabaka, al-Ebara, al-Farizah and al-Beit al-Abyaz in the kingdom's southwestern region of Jizan.

According to al-Masirah, several Saudi troopers were killed in the offensive and the bases received considerable damage. Meanwhile, Yemeni forces managed to destroy a Saudi tank in Midi Desert of northern Yemen.

Elsewhere, in al-Mahyal area of the al-Moafer district in the southwestern province of Ta'izz, Yemeni forces killed at least seven mercenaries fighting for the regime in Riyadh and wounded several others.

Since March 2015, Yemen has been heavily bombarded by Saudi warplanes as part of a brutal campaign against the Arabian Peninsula country in an attempt to crush the popular Houthi movement and reinstall the former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

Nearly 3.3 million Yemeni people, including 2.1 million children, are currently suffering from acute malnutrition. Latest tallies show that the war has so far killed over 12,000 Yemenis and wounded thousands more. The Saudi aggression has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories.