SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni health officials say an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition in the country's north hit a wedding party, killing at least 15 people the previous day.

Khaled al-Nadhri, the top health official in the northern province of Hajja, told The Associated Press on Monday that most of the dead were women and children who were gathered in one of the tents set up for the wedding party in the district of Bani Qayis.

He says the bride was also among the dead.

Hospital chief Mohammed al-Sawmali says the groom and 45 of the wounded were brought to the local al-Jomhouri hospital.

The Saudi-led coalition has been waging a war on Yemen's Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who control much of the north, to restore the internationally recognized government to power.</s>Saudi-led airstrike at Yemen wedding killed at least 20

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition hit a wedding party in northern Yemen, killing at least 20 people including the bride, health officials said Monday, as harrowing images emerged on social media of the deadly bombing, the third to hit Yemeni civilians since the weekend.

Khaled al-Nadhri, the top health official in the northern province of Hajja, told The Associated Press that most of the dead were women and children who were gathered in one of the tents set up for the wedding party in the Bani Qayis district. He said the bride was also among the dead.

A Saudi-led coalition has been battling Iran-allied Shiite rebels known as Houthis since 2015 in a stalemated war that has killed more than 10,000 people.

Later Monday, the rebels said the official considered the head of state for the territories under their control was killed in a coalition airstrike. The rebels' Supreme Political Council said Saleh al-Samad was killed in the coastal Hodeida province on Thursday.

"We consider the so-called forces of aggression, especially America and Saudi Arabia, responsible for killing of Samad and all the consequences of this crime," Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, the leader of the rebels, said.

He said Samad was killed on a road with six companions after meeting with local officials. Mahdi al-Mashat, a former fighter who until now directed al-Houthi's office, was elected as a successor.

After the wedding strike, which took place late Sunday, the groom and 45 of the wounded were brought to the al-Jomhouri hospital, said the facility's manager, Mohammed al-Sawmali. Health authorities called on people to donate blood.

Ali Nasser al-Azib, deputy head of the hospital, said 30 children were among the wounded, some in critical condition with shrapnel wounds and severed limbs.

Footage that emerged from the scene of the airstrike shows scattered body parts and a young boy in a green shirt hugging a man's lifeless body, screaming and crying.

Health ministry spokesman Abdel-Hakim al-Kahlan said ambulances were initially unable to reach the site of the bombing for fear of subsequent airstrikes as the jets continued to fly overhead.

It was the third deadly airstrike in Yemen since the weekend. An airstrike on Sunday night hit a house elsewhere in Hajja, killing an entire family of five, according to al-Nadhri.

On Saturday, at least 20 civilians were killed when coalition fighter jets bombed a bus carrying commuters in western Yemen, near the city of Taiz, which has been locked in fighting for three years.

The Saudi-led coalition has declined to comment on the strikes.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the airstrikes on the wedding party and on civilian vehicles in Taiz and reminded all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians in armed conflict, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday.

The U.N. chief called for "a prompt, effective and transparent investigation," Dujarric said.

According to the independent monitor Yemen Data Project, a third of the 16,847 airstrikes since the war started have hit non-military targets.

Over the past three years, more than 10,000 civilians have been killed and tens of thousands wounded, while over 3 million people have been displaced because of the fighting.

U.N. officials and rights groups have accused the coalition of committing war crimes and of being responsible for most of the killings. Airstrikes have hit weddings, busy markets, hospitals, and schools.

The Saudi-led coalition blames the Houthis, saying they are using civilians as human shields and hiding among the civilian population. The United States and European countries have also been criticized and accused of complicity in the coalition's attacks in Yemen because of their support for the alliance. They are supplying the coalition with weapons worth billions of dollars.

Saudi Arabia meanwhile has faced a flurry of attacks by the Houthis, with the kingdom's defense forces saying they have intercepted missiles targeting the capital, Riyadh, and other cities, including two on Monday.

The Saudi Air Defense force said in a statement that it destroyed ballistic missiles in flight that had been fired into the Jizan region on the border from inside Yemen, without causing any damage. Houthi-run media said the rebels targeted an oil facility.</s>Saudi-led airstrike at Yemen wedding killed at least 20

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition hit a wedding party in northern Yemen, killing at least 20 people including the bride, health officials said Monday, as harrowing images emerged on social media of the deadly bombing, the third to hit Yemeni civilians since the weekend.

Khaled al-Nadhri, the top health official in the northern province of Hajja, told The Associated Press that most of the dead were women and children who were gathered in one of the tents set up for the wedding party in the Bani Qayis district. He said the bride was also among the dead.

A Saudi-led coalition has been battling Iran-allied Shiite rebels known as Houthis since 2015 in a stalemated war that has killed more than 10,000 people.

Later Monday, the rebels said the official considered the head of state for the territories under their control was killed in a coalition airstrike. The rebels' Supreme Political Council said Saleh al-Samad was killed in the coastal Hodeida province on Thursday.

"We consider the so-called forces of aggression, especially America and Saudi Arabia, responsible for killing of Samad and all the consequences of this crime," Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, the leader of the rebels, said.

He said Samad was killed on a road with six companions after meeting with local officials. Mahdi al-Mashat, a former fighter who until now directed al-Houthi's office, was elected as a successor.

After the wedding strike, which took place late Sunday, the groom and 45 of the wounded were brought to the al-Jomhouri hospital, said the facility's manager, Mohammed al-Sawmali. Health authorities called on people to donate blood.

Ali Nasser al-Azib, deputy head of the hospital, said 30 children were among the wounded, some in critical condition with shrapnel wounds and severed limbs.

Footage that emerged from the scene of the airstrike shows scattered body parts and a young boy in a green shirt hugging a man's lifeless body, screaming and crying.

Health ministry spokesman Abdel-Hakim al-Kahlan said ambulances were initially unable to reach the site of the bombing for fear of subsequent airstrikes as the jets continued to fly overhead.

It was the third deadly airstrike in Yemen since the weekend. An airstrike on Sunday night hit a house elsewhere in Hajja, killing an entire family of five, according to al-Nadhri.

On Saturday, at least 20 civilians were killed when coalition fighter jets bombed a bus carrying commuters in western Yemen, near the city of Taiz, which has been locked in fighting for three years.

The Saudi-led coalition has declined to comment on the strikes.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the airstrikes on the wedding party and on civilian vehicles in Taiz and reminded all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians in armed conflict, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday.

The U.N. chief called for "a prompt, effective and transparent investigation," Dujarric said.

According to the independent monitor Yemen Data Project, a third of the 16,847 airstrikes since the war started have hit non-military targets.

Over the past three years, more than 10,000 civilians have been killed and tens of thousands wounded, while over 3 million people have been displaced because of the fighting.

U.N. officials and rights groups have accused the coalition of committing war crimes and of being responsible for most of the killings. Airstrikes have hit weddings, busy markets, hospitals, and schools.

The Saudi-led coalition blames the Houthis, saying they are using civilians as human shields and hiding among the civilian population. The United States and European countries have also been criticized and accused of complicity in the coalition's attacks in Yemen because of their support for the alliance. They are supplying the coalition with weapons worth billions of dollars.

Saudi Arabia meanwhile has faced a flurry of attacks by the Houthis, with the kingdom's defense forces saying they have intercepted missiles targeting the capital, Riyadh, and other cities, including two on Monday.

The Saudi Air Defense force said in a statement that it destroyed ballistic missiles in flight that had been fired into the Jizan region on the border from inside Yemen, without causing any damage. Houthi-run media said the rebels targeted an oil facility.</s>Air strikes by a Saudi-led military coalition killed at least 20 people attending a wedding in a village in northwestern Yemen late on Sunday, residents and medical sources said.

The head of Al Jumhouri hospital in Hajjah said that by telephone that the hospital had received 40 bodies, most of them torn to pieces, and that 46 people had been injured, including 30 children, in air strikes that hit a wedding gathering.

Residents and medics stated that 20 people attending the celebration were killed and at least 30 injured.

The Western-backed alliance has been fighting a war for three years against the armed Houthi movement which controls the area and much of northern Yemen.

It has launched thousands of air strikes in a campaign to restore the internationally recognized government. Errant strikes have killed hundreds of civilians at hospitals, schools and markets.

Al-Masirah, the TV station of the armed Houthi movement which controls the area and much of northern Yemen, said on its Twitter account that 33 people had been killed and 55 wounded.

The coalition says it does not target civilians and has set up an investigation committee into alleged mass casualty air strikes which have mostly cleared the coalition of any blame.

The Yemen war has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than 2 million and driven the country to the verge of famine, according to the United Nations.</s>Saudi-led airstrike at Yemen wedding killed at least 20

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition hit a wedding party in northern Yemen, killing at least 20 people including the bride, health officials said Monday, as harrowing images emerged on social media of the deadly bombing, the third to hit Yemeni civilians since the weekend.

Khaled al-Nadhri, the top health official in the northern province of Hajja, told The Associated Press that most of the dead were women and children who were gathered in one of the tents set up for the wedding party in the Bani Qayis district. He said the bride was also among the dead.

A Saudi-led coalition has been battling Iran-allied Shiite rebels known as Houthis since 2015 in a stalemated war that has killed more than 10,000 people.

Later Monday, the rebels said the official considered the head of state for the territories under their control was killed in a coalition airstrike. The rebels' Supreme Political Council said Saleh al-Samad was killed in the coastal Hodeida province on Thursday.

"We consider the so-called forces of aggression, especially America and Saudi Arabia, responsible for killing of Samad and all the consequences of this crime," Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, the leader of the rebels, said.

He said Samad was killed on a road with six companions after meeting with local officials. Mahdi al-Mashat, a former fighter who until now directed al-Houthi's office, was elected as a successor.

After the wedding strike, which took place late Sunday, the groom and 45 of the wounded were brought to the al-Jomhouri hospital, said the facility's manager, Mohammed al-Sawmali. Health authorities called on people to donate blood.

Ali Nasser al-Azib, deputy head of the hospital, said 30 children were among the wounded, some in critical condition with shrapnel wounds and severed limbs.

Footage that emerged from the scene of the airstrike shows scattered body parts and a young boy in a green shirt hugging a man's lifeless body, screaming and crying.

Health ministry spokesman Abdel-Hakim al-Kahlan said ambulances were initially unable to reach the site of the bombing for fear of subsequent airstrikes as the jets continued to fly overhead.

It was the third deadly airstrike in Yemen since the weekend. An airstrike on Sunday night hit a house elsewhere in Hajja, killing an entire family of five, according to al-Nadhri.

On Saturday, at least 20 civilians were killed when coalition fighter jets bombed a bus carrying commuters in western Yemen, near the city of Taiz, which has been locked in fighting for three years.

The Saudi-led coalition has declined to comment on the strikes.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the airstrikes on the wedding party and on civilian vehicles in Taiz and reminded all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians in armed conflict, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday.

The U.N. chief called for "a prompt, effective and transparent investigation," Dujarric said.

According to the independent monitor Yemen Data Project, a third of the 16,847 airstrikes since the war started have hit non-military targets.

Over the past three years, more than 10,000 civilians have been killed and tens of thousands wounded, while over 3 million people have been displaced because of the fighting.

U.N. officials and rights groups have accused the coalition of committing war crimes and of being responsible for most of the killings. Airstrikes have hit weddings, busy markets, hospitals, and schools.

The Saudi-led coalition blames the Houthis, saying they are using civilians as human shields and hiding among the civilian population. The United States and European countries have also been criticized and accused of complicity in the coalition's attacks in Yemen because of their support for the alliance. They are supplying the coalition with weapons worth billions of dollars.

Saudi Arabia meanwhile has faced a flurry of attacks by the Houthis, with the kingdom's defense forces saying they have intercepted missiles targeting the capital, Riyadh, and other cities, including two on Monday.

The Saudi Air Defense force said in a statement that it destroyed ballistic missiles in flight that had been fired into the Jizan region on the border from inside Yemen, without causing any damage. Houthi-run media said the rebels targeted an oil facility.</s>An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition hit a wedding party in northern Yemen, killing at least 20 people, health officials said, as harrowing images emerged on social media of the deadly bombing, the third to hit Yemeni civilians since the weekend.

Khaled al-Nadhri, the top health official in the northern province of Hajja, told the Associated Press that most of the dead were women and children who were gathered in one of the tents set up for the wedding party in the district of Bani Qayis. He said the bride was among the dead.



The hospital chief, Mohammed al-Sawmali, said the groom and 45 of the wounded were brought to the local hospital. Health authorities appealed for people to donate blood.

Ali Nasser al-Azib, the deputy head of al-Jomhouri hospital, said 30 children were among the wounded, some in critical condition with shrapnel wounds and severed limbs.

Footage that emerged from the scene of the airstrike shows scattered body parts and a young boy in a green shirt hugging a man’s lifeless body, screaming and crying.

Health ministry spokesman Abdel-Hakim al-Kahlan said ambulances were initially unable to reach the site of the bombing for fear of subsequent airstrikes as the jets continued to fly overhead after the initial strike.

This was the third deadly airstrike in Yemen in recent days. Another airstrike on Sunday night hit a house elsewhere in Hajja, killing an entire family of five, according to al-Nadhri.

On Saturday, at least 20 civilians were killed in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition after fighter jets bombed a bus carrying commuters near the war-torn district of Mowza in western Yemen, near the city of Taiz, which has been locked in fighting for three years.

The Saudi-led coalition declined to comment on the strikes when reached by the AP. The coalition has been waging a war on Yemen’s Shia rebels known as Houthis, who control much of the north, and the capital, Sana’a, to restore the internationally recognised government to power.

According to the independent monitor Yemen Data Project, a third of the 16,847 airstrikes since the war started have hit non-military targets.

Over the past three years, more than 10,000 civilians have been killed and tens of thousands wounded, while more than 3 million people have been displaced because of the fighting.

UN officials and rights groups accused the coalition of committing war crimes and of being responsible for most of the killings. Airstrikes have hit weddings, busy markets, hospitals and schools.

The Saudi-led coalition blames the Houthis, saying they are using civilians as human shields and hiding among the civilian population. The US and European countries have also been criticised and accused of complicity in the coalition’s attacks in Yemen because of their support for the alliance and for supplying it with weapons worth billions of dollars.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has faced a flurry of attacks by the Houthis, with the kingdom’s defence forces saying they have intercepted missiles targeting the capital, Riyadh, and other cities.</s>SANAA, Yemen -- An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition hit a wedding party in northern Yemen, killing at least 20 people, health officials said Monday, as harrowing images emerged on social media of the deadly bombing, the third to hit Yemeni civilians since the weekend.

Khaled al-Nadhri, the top health official in the northern province of Hajja, said most of the dead were women and children who were gathered in one of the tents set up for the wedding party in the Bani Qayis district. He said the bride was among the dead.

The Saudi-led coalition has been battling Iran-allied Shiite rebels known as Houthis since 2015 in a stalemated war that has killed more than 10,000 people.

Later Monday, the rebels said the official considered the head of state for the territories under their control was killed in a coalition airstrike. The rebels' Supreme Political Council said Saleh al-Samad was killed in the coastal Hodeida province on Thursday.

"We consider the so-called forces of aggression, especially America and Saudi Arabia, responsible for killing of Samad and all the consequences of this crime," Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, the leader of the rebels, said.

After the wedding strike, which took place late Sunday, the groom and 45 of the wounded were taken to the al-Jomhouri hospital, said the facility's manager, Mohammed al-Sawmali. Health authorities called on people to donate blood.

Ali Nasser al-Azib, deputy head of the hospital, said 30 children were among the injured, some in critical condition with shrapnel wounds and severed limbs.

Health Ministry spokesman Abdel-Hakim al-Kahlan said ambulances were initially unable to reach the site of the bombing for fear of subsequent airstrikes as the jets continued to fly overhead.

An airstrike on Sunday night hit a house elsewhere in Hajja, killing an entire family of five, according to al-Nadhri.

On Saturday, at least 20 civilians were killed when coalition fighter jets bombed a bus carrying commuters in western Yemen, near the city of Taiz, which has been locked in fighting for three years.

The Saudi-led coalition has declined to comment on the strikes.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the airstrikes on the wedding party and on civilian vehicles in Taiz and reminded all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians in armed conflict, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday.

The U.N. chief called for "a prompt, effective and transparent investigation," Dujarric said.

According to the independent monitor Yemen Data Project, a third of the 16,847 airstrikes since the war started have hit nonmilitary targets.

Over the past three years, more than 10,000 civilians have been killed and tens of thousands wounded, while over 3 million people have been displaced because of the fighting.

U.N. officials and rights groups have accused the coalition of committing war crimes and of being responsible for most of the killings. Airstrikes have hit weddings, busy markets, hospitals, and schools.

The Saudi-led coalition blames the Houthis, saying they are using civilians as human shields and hiding among the civilian population. The United States and European countries have also been criticized and accused of complicity in the coalition's attacks in Yemen because of their support for the alliance. They are supplying the coalition with weapons worth billions of dollars.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has faced a flurry of attacks by the Houthis, with the kingdom's defense forces saying they have intercepted missiles targeting the capital, Riyadh, and other cities, including two on Monday.

The Saudi Air Defense force said in a statement that it destroyed ballistic missiles in flight that had been fired into the Jizan region on the border from inside Yemen, without causing any damage. Houthi-run media said the rebels targeted an oil facility.</s>Saudi-led airstrike at Yemen wedding killed at least 20

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition hit a wedding party in northern Yemen, killing at least 20 people including the bride, health officials said Monday, as harrowing images emerged on social media of the deadly bombing, the third to hit Yemeni civilians since the weekend.

Khaled al-Nadhri, the top health official in the northern province of Hajja, told The Associated Press that most of the dead were women and children who were gathered in one of the tents set up for the wedding party in the Bani Qayis district. He said the bride was also among the dead.

A Saudi-led coalition has been battling Iran-allied Shiite rebels known as Houthis since 2015 in a stalemated war that has killed more than 10,000 people.

Later Monday, the rebels said the official considered the head of state for the territories under their control was killed in a coalition airstrike. The rebels' Supreme Political Council said Saleh al-Samad was killed in the coastal Hodeida province on Thursday.

"We consider the so-called forces of aggression, especially America and Saudi Arabia, responsible for killing of Samad and all the consequences of this crime," Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, the leader of the rebels, said.

He said Samad was killed on a road with six companions after meeting with local officials. Mahdi al-Mashat, a former fighter who until now directed al-Houthi's office, was elected as a successor.

After the wedding strike, which took place late Sunday, the groom and 45 of the wounded were brought to the al-Jomhouri hospital, said the facility's manager, Mohammed al-Sawmali. Health authorities called on people to donate blood.

Ali Nasser al-Azib, deputy head of the hospital, said 30 children were among the wounded, some in critical condition with shrapnel wounds and severed limbs.

Footage that emerged from the scene of the airstrike shows scattered body parts and a young boy in a green shirt hugging a man's lifeless body, screaming and crying.

Health ministry spokesman Abdel-Hakim al-Kahlan said ambulances were initially unable to reach the site of the bombing for fear of subsequent airstrikes as the jets continued to fly overhead.

It was the third deadly airstrike in Yemen since the weekend. An airstrike on Sunday night hit a house elsewhere in Hajja, killing an entire family of five, according to al-Nadhri.

On Saturday, at least 20 civilians were killed when coalition fighter jets bombed a bus carrying commuters in western Yemen, near the city of Taiz, which has been locked in fighting for three years.

The Saudi-led coalition has declined to comment on the strikes.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the airstrikes on the wedding party and on civilian vehicles in Taiz and reminded all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians in armed conflict, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday.

The U.N. chief called for "a prompt, effective and transparent investigation," Dujarric said.

According to the independent monitor Yemen Data Project, a third of the 16,847 airstrikes since the war started have hit non-military targets.

Over the past three years, more than 10,000 civilians have been killed and tens of thousands wounded, while over 3 million people have been displaced because of the fighting.

U.N. officials and rights groups have accused the coalition of committing war crimes and of being responsible for most of the killings. Airstrikes have hit weddings, busy markets, hospitals, and schools.

The Saudi-led coalition blames the Houthis, saying they are using civilians as human shields and hiding among the civilian population. The United States and European countries have also been criticized and accused of complicity in the coalition's attacks in Yemen because of their support for the alliance. They are supplying the coalition with weapons worth billions of dollars.

Saudi Arabia meanwhile has faced a flurry of attacks by the Houthis, with the kingdom's defense forces saying they have intercepted missiles targeting the capital, Riyadh, and other cities, including two on Monday.

The Saudi Air Defense force said in a statement that it destroyed ballistic missiles in flight that had been fired into the Jizan region on the border from inside Yemen, without causing any damage. Houthi-run media said the rebels targeted an oil facility.</s>April 23 (UPI) -- An airstrike on a wedding party in northern Yemen killed at least 20 people, including the bride, Houthi rebels said, blaming the Saudi-led coalition that supports the Yemeni government.

The attack late Sunday left dozens of people injured, including at least 17 children in the village of al-Raqa, Hajjah province, about 55 miles northwest of the capital of Sanaa. Yemeni photographer Eissa al-Rajihi told The New York Times he visited a hospital where some of the victims were treated and observed children missing limbs and eyes. He said the groom had shrapnel injuries.

"He was speechless and appeared in a bad psychological state as some of his relatives had been killed," Rajhi said.

Health ministry spokesman Abdel-Hakim al-Kahlan said emergency officials were initially unable to reach the site of the bombing because warplanes continued to fly over the region. The location of the village is also remote and difficult to access.

Houthi rebels said the Saudi-led coalition, which supports the Yemeni government of President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi, was to blame for the attack.

"We take this report very seriously and it will be fully investigated as all reports of this nature are," a spokesman for the coalition said, according to The Independent.

Houthi rebels, who represent the country's Zaidi Shiite Muslim minority, have fought the Yemeni government periodically since 2004. The conflict exploded in 2014 and 2015, though when rebels, along with supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, entered the capital of Sanaa and forced Hadi to flee to the port city of Aden.

A coalition of eight Arab countries -- mostly Sunni Muslims -- took up the fight to restore Hadi to power. The United States, Britain and France also support the coalition.

Infighting has plagued both sides of the conflict in recent months. The Houthis split from Saleh and killed him in an attack on his home in December. Clashes among Hadi loyalists in January killed at least 12 people in Aden.

The Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV network on Monday reported Houthi political leader Saleh al-Sammad died Thursday during Saudi-led airstrikes on Hodeidah province.

Rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said al-Sammad's death "will not go unanswered."

The Houthis selected Mahdi al-Mashat to be the new political leader.</s>Yemeni health officials say an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition in the country's north hit a wedding party, killing at least 15 people the previous day.

Khaled al-Nadhri, the top health official in the northern province of Hajja, told The Associated Press on Monday that most of the dead were women and children who were gathered in one of the tents set up for the wedding party in the district of Bani Qayis.

He says the bride was also among the dead.

Hospital chief Mohammed al-Sawmali says the groom and 45 of the wounded were brought to the local al-Jomhouri hospital.

The Saudi-led coalition has been waging a war on Yemen's Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who control much of the north, to restore the internationally recognized government to power.
A Saudi-led coalition airstrike kills Yemen's Supreme Political Council president Saleh Ali al-Sammad. He was considered the most senior Houthi official in Sana'a.