The Irish Press - 11 dead as coalition strikes Yemen after Abu Dhabi attack: witness, medics

11 dead as coalition strikes Yemen after Abu Dhabi attack: witness, medics
11 dead as coalition strikes Yemen after Abu Dhabi attack: witness, medics

11 dead as coalition strikes Yemen after Abu Dhabi attack: witness, medics

Eleven people were killed in coalition air strikes on Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa, a witness and medical sources told AFP Tuesday, after the insurgents launched a rare and deadly attack on the United Arab Emirates.

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"Eleven people were killed. The search is still going on for survivors in the rubble," said Akram al-Ahdal, a relative of some of the victims. A medical source confirmed the death toll.

The air strikes hit two houses, leaving them in ruins, Ahdal said. The UAE is part of the Saudi-led pro-government coalition fighting rebel forces.

The coalition launched fresh strikes "targeting Huthi camps and headquarters" in Sanaa on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia's state-owned Al-Ekhbariya TV tweeted.

The strikes come after Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed a drone and missile attack on the UAE capital Abu Dhabi which killed three people and wounded six.

The Huthis have carried out repeated cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia, but this is the first deadly assault acknowledged by the UAE inside its borders and claimed by the Yemeni insurgents.

V.Barbieri--IM