Sana’a, May 1 (IANS) Fighter jets of the Saudi-led coalition forces launched several rounds of airstrikes on military sites and two hotels controlled by the Shiia Houthi group in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on Thursday, killing at least 14 people, a government official said.
“A number of Houthi-controlled military sites and two hotels were pounded by the warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition forces which support militia allied with the exiled Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi in the fight that is raging in and around Aden city,” a local government official told Xinhua news agency.
“Official reports indicate that the airstrikes on Houthi-held hotels in khormaksar district of Aden killed about 10 people and wounded several others,” the official said.
He added that “the forces increased the air bombings”, adding that “about four Houthi gunmen were killed and more than 11 others wounded in the airstrikes in Dar Saad district of Aden.”
Meanwhile, intensive clashes continued across Aden city as pro-Hadi militiamen launched assaults aiming to retake key government institutions and Aden international airport from the Houthi group.
The two sides exchanged gunfire, and explosions were observed on the coastal road leading to Aden’s airport and the Badr Armored Army Brigade controlled by the Houthis.
“Our fighters were trying to retake some neighbourhoods and key crossroads which were occupied by the Houthi group. After fierce fighting, we have taken over parts of Aden’s airport and the runway,” said a top commander of the pro-Hadi forces.