UPDATE – Yemen rebels say dozens killed in Saudi-led airstrikes

UPDATES DEATH TOLL

By Mohamed al-Samei

SANAA (AA) - Yemen's Houthi rebels said Saturday dozens were killed in Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in northern Yemen.

"Thirty people were killed as an initial death toll as a result of the raids," Yusuf al-Hadiri, a spokesman for the Houthi-run Health Ministry, said in statements cited by Al-Masirah television.

According to the broadcaster, the attacks targeted a group of people checking the wreckage of a Tornado fighter jet downed by Houthis in Al-Jawf province on Friday.

The spokesman said women and children were among the victims.

There was no comment from the Saudi-led coalition on the claim.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

Tens of thousands of Yemenis, including numerous civilians, believed to have been killed in the conflict since then, while another 14 million are at risk of starvation, according to the UN.