Six Hadi-backed Yemen soldiers killed by Saudi coalition

Six Yemeni soldiers were killed on Monday night when Saudi-led coalition warplanes mistakenly bombed a site in south-western Yemen, according to a local military source.

The strike targeted a mountainous area in Kahboub district near the Bab El-Mandab Strait, a key maritime route connecting the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

“Two soldiers were also injured in the attack,” the source added anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to media.

It is believed the airstrike on friendly forces was due to “lack of coordination” between government forces and the Saudi-led coalition.

There was no comment from the coalition on the attack.

Yesterday, government forces took control of the south-western Mocha city and its strategic port on Bab El-Mandab Strait after a two-week military campaign.

Yemen has been wrecked by conflict since late 2014, when Houthi rebels and their allies overran the capital, Sana’a, and other parts of the country.

Yemen has been locked in a bitter battle between Houthi rebels allied with forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh against government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, along with local tribes and resistance forces backed by a Saudi Arabia-led coalition.