Houthi attack kills top army commander in W. Yemen

By Murad al-Erifi

TAIZ, Yemen (AA) - A senior government commander was killed by a Houthi rocket attack in western Yemen on Saturday, according to a local military source.

Colonel Saleh al-Sobeihi was killed along with four other army officers after a Houthi rocket hit their vehicle east of Mocha port city, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Al-Sobeihi is the third senior military commander to have been killed in Houthi attacks since January.

Backed by Saudi-led warplanes, Yemeni government forces captured Mocha city in late January.

Yemen fell into civil war in 2014, when Houthi rebels and allied forces of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh overran capital Sanaa and other parts of the country.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched an extensive air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.