Coalition airstrikes hit Houthi drone facility

sanaa — The Saudi-led coalition has launched a series of airstrikes against targets in Yemen’s rebelheld capital, including a military base and drone facility located at the city’s international airport.

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said the targets included Al Dulaimi Air Base, a drone storage site, and military training sites.

The airstrikes late on Saturday were the first by the coalition in Sanaa since a deal reached last month between coalition-backed government and Iran-aligned rebels known as Houthis, which have been at war since 2014.

The deal provided for a ceasefire and a withdrawal of rival forces from the contested port city of Hodeida on the Red Sea as well as an exchange of prisoners, but the implementation has run into difficulties.

Earlier this month, a bomb-laden drone launched by the rebels targeted a military parade near the government-held city of Aden on the Arabian Sea, killing at least seven people, including the commander of military intelligence.

There was no more information immediately available on casualties or damage from Saturday’s airstrikes, which began late at night and continued until just before dawn on Sunday. The explosions from the airstrikes lit up the night sky and rocked homes across much of the city.

Security officials said the airstrikes also hit the former headquarters of the army’s 1st Armoured Division and military repair workshops.