Arab coalition forces target weapons cache in Sanaa

Arab coalition forces have targeted the headquarters of Yemeni TV in Sanaa, which was being used as a weapons cache by Houthi rebels. Massive explosions were seen and heard, Aljazeera.net reported on Friday.

The head of Aljazeera’s office in Sanaa, Sameer Thabet, said that rockets and shells were aimed at an area of approximately one kilometre around the target site.

According to Anadolu, local residents reported massive explosions between 6 and 7am, local time, noting that large clouds of smoke covered the sky. The residents also reported seeing rockets and shells exploding within the area.

Houthi rebels and forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh control all the camps around the capital Sanaa. Coalition forces have also previously targeted other weapon caches in Yemen.

Meanwhile, medical sources and witnesses said that 20 civilians, including a woman, were killed in Houthi attacks against a residential area in the middle of Ma’reb city. Several were also reported to have been wounded.

This attack, Aljazeera said, followed the killing of seven armed Houthi militants in an airstrike carried out by the coalition in the city. In another attack, the coalition forces hit a Houthi gathering in Shabwa and killed eight militants.

Military sources said that the coalition forces and the national Yemeni army are manoeuvring into position in the Dshoush area to the west of Ma’reb, in preparation for a fight with the Houthis and Saleh’s forces nearby.

Smoke rises over the Yemen government television building which is under the control of the Houthis after the war crafts belonging to the Saudi-led coalition bombed there in Sanaa,Yemen on September 11, 2015. Images by Anadolu Agency.