UPDATE - Yemen: 70 killed in Houthi attack on military camp

UPDATES WITH DEATH TOLL; CHANGES HEAD, LEDE

By Hamdi Yildiz and Hacer Baser

MARIB, Yemen (AA) - The death toll Sunday reached 70 after Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched an air strike on a government-held military camp in Yemen’s Marib city, according to military sources.

An armed unmanned aerial vehicle was used in the attack, according to military sources from the government. The assault left a large number of soldiers injured.

Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi said in a first statement after Saturday's attack that the Houthi militias' assault targeting the masjid of the military camp in Marib reveals how reluctant they are for peace.

A source from Marib State Hospital, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to media, told Anadolu Agency that most of the dead were soldiers targeted by mortars while taking rest.

- Clash with Yemeni army kills many Houthis

At least 23 Houthi rebels and three Yemeni army soldiers were killed Saturday in clashes in the capital, Sanaa.

According to information from Yemeni security sources, the Yemeni army carried out preemptive action against Houthi rebels preparing to attack military points in Nihm district.

The army announced it repulsed Houthi attack in the Al-Bayda province.

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.

Since then, tens of thousands of Yemenis are believed to have been killed and injured in the conflict, while another 14 million are at risk of starvation, according to the UN.

* Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur