Coalition raid kills Houthi commander in Yemen

By Ali Oweida

MARIB, Yemen (AA) – A Houthi commander was killed in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in northwestern Yemen, the Yemeni army said Tuesday.

In a statement, the army said Khalil Mohamed Azm was killed in the raid that targeted Midi district in the north-western Hajjah province on Monday.

A number of Houthi rebels were also injured in the attack, according to the statement.

The army said Azm was the third Houthi commander to have been killed in Midi this week.

There was no comment from the Houthi group on the report.

Yemen has fallen into civil war in 2014 after Houthi rebels overran capital Sanaa and other provinces.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi gains and shoring up Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.

According to UN officials, more than 10,000 Yemenis have been killed in the conflict to date, while more than 11 percent of the country’s total population have been displaced from their homes.