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Saudi mercenary commander killed in central Yemen

Saturday, 30 January 2016 9:36 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 30 January 2016 10:55 AM ]

The supporters of the Houthi Ansarullah movement raise their weapons during a rally against the Saudi aerial campaign targeting their country, in the capital, Sana’a, December 15, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

Yemeni army soldiers, backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees, have thwarted an offensive by Saudi-backed militiamen on Yemen’s central province of Ma’rib, killing and injuring several of the extremists, including a commander.

A military source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said militiamen loyal to fugitive former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi carried out an attack on the Jad’an district of the province, located 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of the capital, Sana’a, on Saturday, Yemen’s official Saba Net news agency reported.

Yemeni soldiers and allied forces, however, repelled the assault, leaving an unspecified number of the Saudi mercenaries dead or injured.

The source said that a militia commander, identified as Ahmed al-Doudhi, sustained injuries during the heavy fighting and later died.

Also on Friday, Yemeni army forces fired a barrage of rockets at a Saudi-run military camp in the al-Hayouq district of the southwestern province of Ta’izz, killing nine people and injuring five others.

A Saudi corporal, identified as Tami bin Mohammed al-Qahtani, later succumbed to injuries sustained during the shelling.

Yemenis gather around a crater caused by a Saudi airstrike that targeted a building in the center of the capital, Sana’a, January 29, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Separately, Saudi military jets carried out a number of aerial attacks against the Central Security Headquarters in downtown Sana’a, damaging several residential buildings nearby. There were no immediate reports of possible casualties.

Yemen has been under military attacks by Saudi Arabia since late March last year. The Saudi military strikes were launched to supposedly undermine the Ansarullah movement and bring Hadi back to power.

Over 8,270 people, among them 2,236 children, have been killed and 16,015 others injured since March 2015. The strikes have also taken a heavy toll on the impoverished country’s facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories.

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