At least 24 civilians were killed in an air raid Sunday on a market in northern Yemen, a medical official and witnesses said, blaming the Saudi-led coalition battling Yemeni rebels.

Most of the casualties worked in the Mashnaq market in the rebel-controlled Saada province on the Saudi border, an official at a nearby hospital told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Witnesses said the market was a centre for trafficking in qat, a leafy stimulant plant that is widely used in Yemen but illegal in Saudi Arabia.

One of the witnesses said some of the casualties had "just returned from a trip across the border."

The Saudi-led Arab military coalition has been accused of air strikes in Yemen for more than two years against areas controlled by the Shiite Huthi rebels.

Saada itself has come under heavy bombing since 2015, when the coalition intervened to support the government of Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in its fight against the Iran-backed Huthis.

The coalition claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on the rebel-held capital Sanaa in October 2016 which targeted a gathering of mourners at a funeral ceremony, killing more than 140 people.

The Huthis have also accused the Saudi-led coalition of a raid last month that killed 23 civilians, including women and children, in the southwestern city of Taez.

The Saudi-led coalition — which accused the rebels of using civilians as "human shields" — has not claimed responsibility for that attack.

The rebels, who control a string of strategic ports along the Red Sea coastline and the norther highlands that border Saudi Arabia, have sporadically launched rocket attacks across the border.

In late January, the Huthis attacked a Saudi warship in the Red Sea, killing two sailors.

More than 8,000 people have been killed in the past two years and tens of thousands wounded in the war in Yemen, according to the World Health Organization.

The UN has called Yemen the "largest humanitarian crisis in the world" and warns that 17 million people, or two-thirds of the population, face a serious threat of famine this year.

More than 900 people have died of cholera in recent weeks in the second outbreak of the deadly infection in less than a year in Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world long before the war.</s>SANAA: At least 24 civilians were killed in an air raid on Sunday on a market in northern Yemen, a medical official and witnesses said, blaming the Saudi-led coalition battling Yemeni rebels. Most of the casualties worked in the Mashnaq market in the rebel-controlled Saada province on the Saudi border, an official at a nearby hospital told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Witnesses said the market was a centre for trafficking in Qat, a leafy stimulant plant that is widely used in Yemen but illegal in Saudi Arabia. One of the witnesses said some of the casualties had "just returned from a trip across the border".

The Saudi-led Arab coalition has been carrying out air strikes in Yemen for more than two years against Huthi rebels.

Saada itself has come under heavy bombing since 2015, when the Arab coalition intervened to support the government of Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in its fight against the Iran-backed Huthis.

More than 8,000 people have been killed in the past two years and tens of thousands wounded, according to the World Health Organisation.

Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who control a string of strategic ports along the Red Sea coastline, have sporadically launched rocket attacks across the border into Saudi Arabia.</s>At least 24 Yemeni civilians were killed in an air raid Sunday on a market near the border with Saudi Arabia, a medical official said.

Most of the casualties worked in the Mashnaq market, which sells the mild narcotic qat, in the rebel-controlled northern Saada province, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Witnesses said the market was a centre for trafficking in Qat, a leafy stimulant plant that is widely used in Yemen but illegal in Saudi Arabia.

One of the witnesses said some of the casualties had "just returned from a trip across the border".

The Saudi-led Arab coalition has been carrying out air strikes in Yemen for more than two years against Shiite Huthi rebels.

Saada itself has come under heavy bombing since 2015, when the Arab coalition intervened to support the government of Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in its fight against the Iran-backed Huthis.

More than 8,000 people have been killed in the past two years and tens of thousands wounded, according to the World Health Organization.

Yemen's Huthi rebels, who control a string of strategic ports along the Red Sea coastline, have sporadically launched rocket attacks across the border into Saudi Arabia.

In late January, the rebels attacked a Saudi warship in the Red Sea, killing two sailors.

In addition to widespread food and water shortages, since April the country has been in the grip of a rapidly spreading cholera epedemic.</s>At least 25 killed after two air raids hit al-Mashnaq market in Shada district in northwestern Yemen, an official says.

At least 25 Yemeni civilians have been killed by Saudi-led coalition air strike on a market in the northern Saada province, according to a local health official.

The director of the Houthi-run health department office in Saada said the aircraft conducted two raids on al-Mashnaq market in Shada district close to the Saudi border on Saturday.

"Rescue teams were unable to reach the area for some time for fear of being hit by artillery shelling of the area," the official, Dr Abdelilah al-Azzi, told Reuters news agency by telephone on Sunday.

Several Yemeni online news outlets carried similar reports of the bombing in Saada, which sits directly along the Saudi border.

Officials from the Saudi-led coalition could not immediately be reached for a comment on the report.

A Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes in the impoverished country for more than two years against Houthi rebels, who control vast swathes of the country.

The country has since been plunged into a civil war in which the exiled government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, is trying to roll back gains made by the Iran-aligned Houthi group that controls most of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.

In March, a Saudi-led coalition air strike killed 22 people and wounded dozens when it struck a market in western Yemen near the Red Sea fishing town of Khoukha.

Khoukha and the nearby city of Hodeidah are controlled by the Houthis who overran Sanaa in 2014 and moved south to Aden in 2015 forcing Hadi and his administration to flee into exile. Saudi-led coalition wrested back the control of Aden last year.

The Yemen war has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than three million and ruined much of the impoverished country's infrastructure.

READ MORE: Who benefits from a weak and divided Yemen?

The Saudi-led coalition was formed in 2015 to fight the Houthis and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

In December, the coalition acknowledged it had made "limited use" of British-made cluster bombs, but said it had stopped using them.

In March, the UN World Food Programme said that nearly half of Yemen's 22 provinces were on the verge of famine.</s>DUBAI: Twenty five Yemenis were killed when Saudi-led coalition aircraft struck a market in the northern Saada province, a local health official said Sunday, the latest in a string of deadly incidents in the 27-month-old conflict.

Officials from the Saudi-led coalition could not immediately be reached for a comment on the report. Yemen has been torn by a civil war in which the exiled government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, is trying to roll back gains made by the Iran-aligned Houthi group which controls most of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. The director of the Houthi-run health department office in Saada said the aircraft conducted two raids on al-Mashnaq market in Shada district, which is close to the Saudi border Saturday, killing 25 people and wounding at least one.

“Rescue teams were unable to reach the area for some time for fear of being hit by artillery shelling of the area,” the official, Dr Abdelilah al-Azzi, told Reuters by phone. Reuters could not independently confirm the report because the area is located very close to the frontline, but several Yemeni online news outlets carried a similar report. A Saudi-led coalition air strike killed 22 people and wounded dozens when it struck a market in western Yemen near the Red Sea fishing town of Khoukha in March.

Khoukha and the nearby city of Hodeidah are controlled by the Houthis who overran Sanaa in 2014 and moved south to Aden in 2015 forcing Hadi and his administration to flee into exile.

The Yemen war has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than three million and ruined much of the impoverished country’s infrastructure.

The Saudi-led coalition was formed in 2015 to fight the Houthis and troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who have fired missiles into neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

In December, the coalition acknowledged it had made “limited use” of British-made cluster bombs, but said it had stopped using them.</s>Sanaa: At least 25 people were killed in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike which saw a warplane bomb a popular market in Yemen's northern province of Saada, media reported on Sunday.

The airstrike happened on Saturday evening and targeted al-Mashnak popular market at the centre of Shada district in Saada, Xinhua quoted a Saba news agency report — which cited an official — as saying.

The official said the victims were customers and owners of commercial shops. A number of others were critically injured.

The agency gave no further details, but said it will publish pictures of the scene later on Sunday.

Saada is the main stronghold of Shiite Houthi movement and where the group's leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi is based.

This is the latest in a series of airstrikes hitting Yemeni civilians since the war began in March 2015.

Ten days ago, four members of a family were killed when Saudi-led coalition warplanes hit a house in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, according to residents and medics.

Since March 2015, the coalition has been fighting the dominant Houthi rebels, who have seized control of most of northern Yemen, including Sanaa, to restore power to the internationally recognized yet expelled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The war has killed more than 10,000 people, half of them civilians, and displaced over two million others, according to the United Nations' humanitarian agencies.</s>25 Killed in Saudi Air Strikes on Yemen Market – Health Official

At least 25 Yemenis were killed when Saudi-led coalition aircraft struck a market in the northern Saada province, a local health official said on Sunday, the latest in a string of deadly incidents in the 27-month-old conflict.

Officials from the Saudi-led coalition could not immediately be reached for a comment on the report.

Yemen has been torn by a civil war in which the exiled government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, is trying to roll back gains made by the Iran-aligned Houthi group which controls most of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.

The director of the Houthi-run Health Department office in Saada said the aircraft conducted two raids on al-Mashnaq market in Shada district, which is close to the Saudi border, on Saturday, killing 25 people and wounding at least one.

“Rescue teams were unable to reach the area for some time for fear of being hit by artillery shelling of the area,” the official, Dr Abdelilah al-Azzi, told Reuters by telephone.

Reuters could not independently confirm the report because the area is located very close to the frontline, but several Yemeni online news outlets carried a similar report.

A Saudi-led coalition air strike killed 22 people and wounded dozens when it struck a market in western Yemen near the Red Sea fishing town of Khoukha in March.

Khoukha and the nearby city of Hodeidah are controlled by the Houthis who overran Sanaa in 2014 and moved south to Aden in 2015 forcing Hadi and his administration to flee into exile.

The Yemen war has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than three million and ruined much of the impoverished country’s infrastructure.

The Saudi-led coalition was formed in 2015 to fight the Houthis and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh who have fired missiles into neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

In December, the coalition acknowledged it had made “limited use” of British-made cluster bombs, but said it had stopped using them.

Nearly half of Yemen’s 22 provinces are on the verge of famine, according to the U.N. World Food Programme.

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Also, Like us on facebook</s>The Saada governorate is a stronghold of the Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthi rebels.

Yemen has been suffering from a brutal conflict between the government and the Houthi movement backed by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh since 2014. In March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf countries started carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at the request of the Yemeni authorities.</s>The top U.N. humanitarian official in Yemen said on Tuesday he feared for the lives of civilians in two Red Sea coast cities where Yemeni government forces and their Gulf Arab backers are on an offensive to oust Iran-allied Houthi militia.

Coalition-supported Yemeni army forces advanced northward into al-Mokha and Dhubab last week in a bid to deprive the Houthis of strategic Red Sea ports.

"I am extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of civilians in the Dhubab and al-Mokha districts of Taiz Governorate," U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen Jamie McGoldrick said in a statement.

"Repeated air strikes, shelling and sniper attacks in and around the town of al-Mokha have killed and injured scores of civilians and have ground most services to a halt, including the main market and the water supply system."

Some 20,000 to 30,000 people were trapped in al-Mokha and in need of assistance, he added, but intense fighting was impeding safe access for relief agencies.

Houthi forces attacked a Saudi warship stationed off the coast on Monday night, causing an explosion that killed two crew members and injured three others, according to the Saudi state news agency SPA.

The Houthis said they had launched a ballistic missile at a coalition military base on the Red Sea island of Zuqar between Yemen and Eritrea on Tuesday morning, posting video of the attack on their news channel, al-Masira.</s>A deadly dawn raid on the al Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen earlier this week "likely killed" civilians and could include children, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.

Trump travelled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware in an unexpected visit to meet with the family of William “Ryan” Owens, a chief special warfare operator who died in Sunday's raid.

"The known possible civilian casualties appear to have been potentially caught up in aerial gunfire that was called in to assist U.S. forces...," U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

The U.S. military has said 14 militants were killed in the raid in al Bayda province on a branch of al Qaeda known as AQAP. Medics at the scene, however, have said around 30 people, including 10 women and children, were killed.
An air raid kills at least 24 civilians at a market in Houthi-held Saada Governorate, Yemen.